Heart of Glass
by Cynical-Banshee
Summary: Shinoa has a heart of stone. Yuu has a heart of fire. Together, they may be able to forge glass. Shinoa x Yuu. Set directly after the anime. [ABANDONED. I apologize for my irresponsibility. Check my profile for further explanation.]
1. Children

"Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men. Let them have everything - health, food, a place to live, entertainment - they are and remain unhappy and low spirited; for the demon waits and waits and will be satisfied."

-Friedrich Nietzsche, _The Dawn or Daybreak_

"Family? To me the word is synonymous with necessity…it is a means to an end. Family is power. Nothing more and nothing less."

-Hiiragi Kureto

* * *

Heart of Glass

* * *

Chapter 1: Children

Shinoa had always understood that cynicism and time went hand in hand.

She was standing on the seventh floor of what had once been a large shopping complex, near a spot in the wall where the concrete had been blown clear through, so that she could see outside and down to the street far below. It was still early in the morning, and the sun was just barely beginning to paint the sky an innocent shade of blue, like it was afraid to show itself. Shinoa could understand that. Sometimes it was best to stay hidden.

Turning her eyes to the rows of smaller buildings lining out before her, she made sure for the dozenth time that there was no one else in their general vicinity, human or otherwise. It might have been superfluous of her to check after her entire team had already made a sweep of the perimeter, but lately she had fallen into habits that sometimes resembled acute paranoia. If there was even the slightest chance that they were being followed, she needed to be aware of it. Or one of them could die.

Satisfied that they were alone for now, Shinoa turned away from the nonexistent wall and went back to scavenging for supplies.

Though to be honest, she wasn't sure what she had expected to find when she came in here. In the past, the section of the floor she was standing in had been an area for visiting mothers to leave their children while they carried out their errands, and the space was appropriately decorated for that purpose. Colorful plastic chairs were scattered around a wide rubber mat that was laid out on the floor, though most of them were broken, shattered remains of a past that was over and always would be.

There were spelling blocks sitting in the corner too, their letters cracked and chipped by time, though the books lined neatly on low shelves seemed to vary rather widely in difficulty. Some were for toddlers while others were for older children. Privately, she wondered which age groups this area had been meant to accommodate. Surely children's interests and abilities changed as they grew older.

Not that she really knew what a "child" was anymore. That idea had died with the previous world. Back then, Shinoa would not have even been old enough to join the army. Yet today she was responsible for four other lives.

Little bits of rubble crunched beneath Shinoa's shoes as she paced across the room. It was a strange feeling; everything looked gray and broken in the pale half light, but this place retained a certain lightness to it, like the innocence that had once lived here was struggling to keep it home, even as shattered fluorescent lights dangled from the ceiling, even if the walls were scored with claw marks.

Squatting before the lower bookshelf, she slowly scanned the volumes placed therein. Most of them were fairy tales and stories for little children, which she large ignored. However, there was a certain spine whose title briefly caught her lavender gaze.

Reaching forward, she pulled the dust cloaked book out of its shelf, coughing gently as a small plume of debris wafted out to greet her. Waving it away with a hand, she turned the book over in her hand and read the title.

 _Katakana and the Japanese Language: For Beginners_

She was reminded then that Yuu still couldn't do much more than read hiragana, an unfortunate side effect of his longtime confinement at the hands of the vampires. It had obviously had a negative effect on his ability to perform at school, not to mention communicate effectively with others, though she refrained from blaming all of Yuu's problems on a language barrier. Being fluent in the language wasn't going to make that boy any less of an idiot, after all.

Still, she shrugged off the backpack she had slung over her shoulders before coming, opening it to slip the instructional book inside. Maybe, when they had some time to kill, she would teach Yuu a thing or two. She couldn't allow him to be nearly illiterate forever.

After putting the book away, she shuffled through the rest of her backpack's contents and found it disappointingly empty. Coming to this particular floor had been a waste of time. She should have listened to her head and chosen somewhere else to search for resources.

"Shinoa?"

Blinking, the sergeant turned to see Yuu standing at the door, leaning against its frame. He was dressed in casual clothing, and even after all these months on the run the sight seemed a little disjointed to her; she had grown used to seeing the boy in his JIDA uniform. His hair had grown even more unruly during that time; he was in need of a haircut.

Her eyes then drifted down to the exposed skin of Yuu's neck, and rested on the almost indiscernible twin pinpricks set into the skin there, virtually unnoticeable if one wasn't looking for it already. It was proof that Mika had fed directly from Yuu recently, despite Shinoa's insistence that the fledgling vampire rely on the blood the entire team provided instead. Not that she really expected the former human to follow her orders.

The sight made her heart hurt for some reason, but she couldn't really explain why. Then it occurred to her that she was staring, and went back to scanning the bookshelves, or at least pretended to.

"Oh, Yuu," she said, not moving her eyes. "Are you done on your end?"

"Yeah." the swordsman left the door frame and walked into the room, stopping when he was a few feet from her. "Found some knives, and other stuff we might be able to use later. Hard to find anything that isn't broken or rusted over by now."

"Mmm," Shinoa agreed, admittedly still lost in her own thoughts. She reached out and traced a finger down the spine of another book. "And the others?"

Yuu gestured vaguely with a hand. "On another floor, looking for food. Though I think Mitsuba went off to do her own thing."

Shinoa snorted softly at that, leaving the books be and standing up. "Why do Yoichi and Kimizuki always have to get the food?"

The boy standing before her grinned wolfishly at that. "Because neither you nor Mitsuba can cook, obviously."

She just glared irritably at him for that, lacking the inspiration to make a snappy comment in response. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she walked past him and made for the door.

"So what were you looking for in here, anyway?" Yuu said behind her, hands shoved in his pockets. "Did you find anything useful?"

No, she hadn't. It had been a complete waste of time. But she avoided saying so, partly because she didn't want to admit it to Yuu, and partly because she didn't understand why she had come in here herself. Perhaps part of her had read the words _Children's Center_ and gotten curious. Childhood was a privilege that she had been deprived of. Maybe her heart had thought that she would earn back a bit of that privilege by going inside.

Looking back on it now, it had been a silly sentimental decision. That room only had things meant for children. And they were not children.

Masking her emotions with a wide smile, she turned back to Yuu and instead asked teasingly, "And what about you, Yuu? Seeking me out so soon…don't tell me you missed me that much?"

Yuu just rolled his eyes and tried to swat her on the head, which the girl easily dodged. "I've been with you every hour of every day for the past five months. It's impossible for me to miss you."

Shinoa just laughed, thankfully not having to fake it this time.

"I concede your point."

Still, she couldn't help looking back at that room one last time before departing.

* * *

According to Yuu, Kimizuki and Yoichi were supposed to be on the ninth floor, so they began climbing the stairs to meet up with them, as the escalators were now long dead.

Well, not that this stopped a certain boy from having his fun.

"I've always wanted to do this," Yuu said excitedly, skipping up several steps at once.

Shinoa just stared at him, standing on the physical staircase that rose up parallel to the nonoperational escalator. "You mean…use an escalator?"

Yuu just rolled his eyes again, in that admittedly endearing exasperated manner only he could pull off. "No, of course not. I meant use an escalator in the opposite direction."

The sergeant just continued staring at the boy, watching as he skipped ahead of her. "Uh huh."

A grunt of disapproval was tossed her way. "You just don't get it, Shinoa. When I was I kid these used to move all the time, and then it was _really_ hard to get all the way to the top without tiring yourself out. Not to mention security always caught me before I could make it."

Despite her intentions, Shinoa found herself smiling bemusedly, shaking her head as she began following Yuu up the steps. "You do realize we're both the same age?"

"Only in age, Shinoa. Not in spirit."

 _Ah, yes. In that respect I am practically your generational senior,_ Shinoa thought sarcastically, but did not say it out loud, doubting Yuu would get the joke. Instead she just sighed and said, "You're an idiot, you know that?"

They reached the next floor a moment later, with her male companion leaping the last five steps in a single jump. He dusted his hands off and had an extremely satisfied look on his face, and Shinoa had to suppress the urge to burst out laughing on the spot.

"You guys say that too often," the swordsman quipped, falling into the step beside her, their footsteps echoing off the walls. "If you aren't careful, it just might become true."

"And what makes you think it isn't _already?_ "

Shinoa had never really been the type to frequent places like this during her childhood. Malls were the kind of place you went with friends, of which she had been severely lacking. Besides, the Hiiragi oligarchy never would have approved. Even with the utter lack of regard her relatives had given her, flippant activities like that weren't to be tolerated.

But she _had_ been to a mall before, and knew enough about them to understand that the deafening quietness surrounding them should feel more than a little surreal. Big, wide open spaces, high ceilings, empty chairs, but no people. The entire place felt like a massive chest cavity where someone had plunged their hand in and torn out the heart that lay within, so that it was just an empty husk, an imperfect memory. Still, she could appreciate the weird feeling it gave her, and she might have even considered the atmosphere to be romantic.

That was, until they turned the next corner.

Shinoa was about to retort to another one of Yuu's crude remarks when she saw it. At first it was just a thin shadow at the edge of her vision, like the grasping fingers of sleep as they pull you down into oblivion, until she had rounded the corner entirely. And then there was nothing stopping her from seeing it.

A dead body was hanging from the ceiling not twenty yards ahead of them, suspended in space by a thick rope died around the corpse's neck.

It was barely a shadow in the meager morning light, but somehow that made it look all the more gruesome. Its arms were hanging limply at its sides, the head drooping down in a similar manner, like its limbs were at the mercy of a bored puppet master who had left his doll to die. Its clothes were tattered and ripped, and it seemed to hover over them like some dark angel, the vengeful kind, the kind that came from above but belonged below.

Shinoa didn't know why she reacted how she did. Maybe it was because she was in the middle of an entertaining conversation with Yuu, or maybe her thoughts were still wandering from back in the children's room. She didn't really know the reason. But once her brain computed what exactly it was seeing, she gasped audibly and grabbed Yuu by the arm, her fingers sinking almost painfully into his flesh.

She heard Yuu inhale sharply, though his reaction was more muted than Shinoa's. They both came to a stop near the bend of the corner, rooted in place by the shadowy specter suspended above them, as if pinned down by its sightless gaze.

"Is it…a human?" she breathed quietly, like she was afraid it could hear her, even though it was obviously dead.

Yuu narrowed his eyes at the corpse, his free hand moving instinctively to grasp the pommel of his sword. "Looks like it. Not that it really matters. Everyone dies the same."

"Very true," Shinoa murmured, oddly unable to look away. The moment of black fear had passed, and now she more fascinated than anything else. She wondered who this person had been, in life, if he had died before or after the virus, who his loved ones were.

Unfortunately, answers to questions like that tended to be lost in death.

Yuu cleared his throat gently, getting her attention. "Shinoa, are you okay?" he asked, flexing his arm to remind her that she was still holding onto it.

"Huh? Oh. Sorry," the sergeant stammered, releasing her friend. She had forgotten that her fingers were still wrapped around the boy's arm. Yuu just smiled reassuringly and walked past her, until he was standing directly beneath the hung man.

"Poor bastard," he murmured, shaking his head slowly. "No one should be made to die like this."

Shinoa walked over and stood next to Yuu, joining him in examining the body. From here she could see the man's contorted face, the jaw loose and hanging from an odd angle from where the rope had choked him, the stained whites of his half closed eyes.

They stood there like that, gazing at the visage of death, not saying a word to each other.

"Come on," Yuu said at last, turning away from the corpse. "The others are waiting for us."

"Right," Shinoa murmured, walking backwards with her eyes on the body. She watched it until they turned around the next corner, and then it was hidden from her sight forever.

This section of the floor opened up into a vast, wide open space, the walls covered from floor to ceiling with various types of foods. Yoichi and Kimizuki were standing at the far end of the fruit section, enclosed by stands stacked high with old, rotten fruit. Their voices floated in Shinoa's direction as they drew closer.

"So, you figure Shinoa's got a height complex?" Yoichi asked nonchalantly, tossing a can of tuna in Kimizuki's direction.

The taller boy just sighed as he caught it, stuffing the can into his backpack without looking. "Everyone on this squad's got some damn complex. Shinoa's got a height complex, Mitsuba's got a superiority complex, and that vampire's probably downright insane."

"Jeez. Don't be so mean to Mikaela," Yoichi urged him, digging around for more tuna.

"I'm just stating the truth. Have you seen the way he looks at Yuu sometimes? I mean, I know that they're practically brothers and everything, but sometimes he acts obsessive. Not to mention he still insists on feeding directly from Yuu."

"I'm sure he just needs time to adjust."

"It's been five months. I-"

"You what?" Yuu asked icily, cutting both of them off.

The two boys visibly flinched and looked behind them, just in time to see Yuu frowning in their general direction. The swordsman had his arms crossed over his chest, and while he wasn't exactly angry, his displeasure was rather evident.

"O-Oh. Yuu. I didn't hear you coming!" Yoichi said a little too loudly, obviously rattled that they had been listened in on.

Yuu just sighed, letting his hands fall back to his sides. "You guys don't have to talk behind our backs, you know. If you have an issue with one of us you should just say it to our faces."

"I wasn't trying to hide anything," Kimizuki pointed out, holding his hands up in a 'what can you do' manner. "Your vampire friend doesn't pay attention to me no matter what I say."

Unfortunately, Yuu couldn't really argue with that. He had hoped that as they spent more time together, Mika would readjust to living around humans, or at least learn to accept his squamates for who they were. Instead the vampire seemed more inclined to ignore the others completely, only speaking to them when it was completely necessary. The only person he actively conversed with was Yuu, but even that was mostly in private, especially when he needed to feed.

Speaking of which, Yuu hadn't understood why Mika refused to drink the blood the team provided for him. Wasn't all blood the same? But Mika had insisted that blood tasted differently depending on who it came from. Not that Yuu thought that was the real problem. Mika would probably avoid accepting help from other humans until it killed him.

"I believe you," Yuu said at last. "Just lay off him for a bit, okay? He's been through as much as we have. Even more, maybe. We might have acted the same in his shoes."

Kimizuki just shrugged, and Yoichi smiled before nodding vigorously. Shinoa found herself feeling rather pleased at the sight. Half of her had expected Yuu to fly off the handle at the idea that someone was speaking ill of his friend, so she was pleasantly surprised that he had handled it so maturely.

 _I guess that means he really does care for Mikaela,_ she thought, holding her own hands behind her back. She had chosen to trust the vampire with Yuu's safety in the past, though that had mostly been because she had no other choice. Once they were safe from the Demon Army's reach she had begun to doubt somewhat that Mikaela was actually trustworthy, but she felt she could banish the thought now. The blond was definitely someone important to Yuu, and Yuu was someone who looked out for the people he cared about.

It was a good thought, but for some reason it made her stomach twist in little knots, like it was displeased with the conclusion she had reached. But what issue was there in her train of thought? She knew she was right.

Everyone loved someone.

"Did you guys see the…uh…guy hanging back there?" Yuu asked, gesturing behind him.

Kimizuki rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah. That. Yoichi literally pissed his pants when he saw it."

The archer went beet red almost immediately. "I did not!" Yuu laughed as Yoichi desperately tried to cover his pants with his backpack.

"Where are Mikaela and Mitsuba?" Shinoa asked.

Kimizuki pointed upwards, towards the ceiling. "Roof. Didn't want to scavenge so they went up there to make sure we don't get surrounded without knowing about it. I'm sure they're making avid conversation up there."

The sergeant giggled at that, holding a loose fist against her lips. "I'd bet they're both talking about how much they adore Yuu."

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Yuu grumbled. "Mitsuba does not _adore_ me."

"And vampires don't rule the world, Yuu."

Before he could ask what exactly she meant by that, something in Shinoa's backpack started making noise, making them all go rigid. It sounded like a garbled voice, though it was nearly impossible to discern what the words were.

"… _llo? Sh…a? Com…n…"_

Shinoa unzipped her pack and pulled out small portable walkie talkie, which they had procured some months ago from an abandoned electronics store. Most of the technologies left behind from the old world were useless to them without controlled electricity, but they were able to make use of some of them. These walkie talkies were solar powered, so she had picked them up just in case.

Holding the button down with a finger, Shinoa spoke into the device. "Yes, hello? Mitsuba?"

 _"Shinoa,_ " the blonde's voice crackled through the speaker, slightly warped by the layers of concrete that stood in the way of the transmission. _"You should probably get up here. There-"_

 _"A small convoy of humans has gathered some blocks away from here."_ Mika's voice suddenly cut Mitsuba off, coming in from nowhere. _"They're idle right now, but they might head this way soon. You should probably come take a look."_

 _"H-Hey! I was talking-"_

 _"Did you find anything useful?"_ Mika asked, ignoring the blonde entirely.

"Yes. We'll be up there as soon as we can," Shinoa replied, fighting the smirk creeping onto her face. She could hear Mitsuba screaming something abusive in the background, until she turned the device off.

But her expression returned to a more serious one a moment later, as she turned to look at her teammates.

"Humans," Kimizuki said, narrowing his eyes. "It's been a while since we ran into anybody. We haven't had to fight for weeks."

"Let's keep it that way," Shinoa suggested, taking point as she led the rest of them towards the stairs. "Come on. Let's get up there before Mitsuba tries to take on a vampire by herself."

* * *

The elevators were obviously broken, so they were forced to walk the last few flights to the roof, their footsteps echoing emptily off the walls of the stairwell.

"Don't peek," Shinoa snarked over her shoulder, where Yuu was following a few steps behind her.

The swordsman flushed gently and turned his face pointedly away from the hem of the sergeant's skirt. "Wasn't planning to."

A few minutes later they reached the rusted iron door at the top of the staircase, which was already hanging slightly ajar. Kimizuki pushed it open with his boot, admitting the four of them to the open morning air.

Shinoa found herself shivering when she stepped onto the roof; it wasn't going to be fall forever, and soon enough winter would take its turn on nature's throne. The wind felt more chilly every day, and the brooding clouds hanging overhead didn't do much for her mood either.

Mikaela and Mitsuba was standing at the far end of the roof, near the edge so that they could keep tabs on the human colony. They turned when the rest of the squad approached from behind them, seriousness etched into their expressions.

"Has anything happened since you contacted us?" Shinoa asked, holding her hand out for the binoculars in Mitsuba's hand.

"Nothing worth noting," the blonde reported, handing the binoculars over. "I think they stopped to take a break. The convoy stopped a few blocks from here and hasn't moved since."

Pursing her lips, Shinoa raised the magnified glasses to her eyes and peered across the rooftops. There, situated in a wide intersection some hundreds of yards away, was the human convoy. A single truck, likely filled with supplies, was parked beneath the shadow of a ruined building. The soldiers, of which Shinoa counted about twenty, were sitting in a loose circle around the vehicle, eating quietly amongst themselves.

"Mikaela, you have better eyesight than we do," she said, tossing the binoculars to the blond, who caught them with one hand. "Are any of them armed with Cursed Gear?"

The vampire simply stared at her for a brief second, and for a moment Shinoa thought he was going to ignore her question. But then he brought the binoculars to his face and looked at the convoy, his elongated fangs pressing against his lower lip as he examined them.

"Doesn't look like it," he said at last, handing the binoculars back to her. "I can only make out enchanted weapons on those soldiers. But there could always be a commander sitting out of sight. We can't see everything from this angle."

"Mmm," Shinoa hummed in agreement, turning to squint at the intersection once more. They were just specks from here without magnification. The rest of the team looked at her expectantly, awaiting her orders. It was strange, really. They weren't part of the JIDA anymore. They had seceded months ago, but her friends still stuck to the chain of command when it came to situations like this.

It was probably for the best, but she didn't relish the responsibility it placed upon her.

"Alright, everybody. My intuition tells me we ought to leave while we still can," Shinoa said, clapping her hands together. "We never know when more humans will show up, not to mention that there could still be stray vampires around. We don't know how much the front has moved since we left."

Everyone nodded in agreement, even Mikaela. The boy might be stubborn and antisocial, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to argue against a logical decision. Shinoa made sure to remember this for the future. It was a method to keep the vampire in check.

They retraced their footsteps down the stairwell, not saying much between themselves. It would have been faster to exit onto the ninth floor and go down from there, but Shinoa refrained from doing so. She didn't want to see the man hanging from the ceiling again. Or the children's center, for that matter.

Several floors later, Mikaela started talking with Yuu, and Shinoa gave in and began listening in on their conversation.

"It's been months, now that I think about it. Since we've talked to anyone besides ourselves."

"That is to be expected. We're avoiding them on purpose." Mikaela's response was its usual mix of sarcasm and irrefutable logic, but she noticed his voice lost its hard edge when directed towards Yuu.

"I know. But it feels strange." Yuu's voice was the same no matter who it was for. "Even when we were trapped in Sanguinem, there were other humans. It's weird, being this isolated."

There was the sound of shifting clothing, and Shinoa figured Mikaela must be shrugging. "I don't know. For a long time I was neither human nor vampire. You don't have to be alone to be lonely."

 _How utterly true that is_ , Shinoa thought, chewing on the inside of her lip. She had grown up surrounded by the most powerful underground family in Japan, the Hiiragis, and yet the greatest thing she associated with her childhood was solitude. Whenever Yuu expressed his desire to protect what he called his 'family,' sometimes she didn't understand what he really meant.

Family was just an ugly word to her.

They reached the bottom floor soon enough, and wisely chose to leave through the rear entrance of the shopping complex. Once they had emerged onto the back street they began making their way away from the human convoy, making sure to keep their movements as discreet as possible. It was so deafeningly quiet that knocking over a stray soda can could have given away their position. And Shinoa preferred to avoid having to fight against her own kind.

The next several moments passed in silence as the group moved on, trying to take as many alleyways as possible. Once they were far enough away from the convoy they could relax a little. But deep down, Shinoa knew that as time went on it was going to become increasingly difficult to avoid confrontations with anyone, human or vampire irregardless. The closer they got to Sanguinem, the more populated their surroundings would be.

Soon the human convoy was nearly a thousand yards away, and Shinoa felt her shoulders unwinding just a little bit. She could see the relief sweeping through the rest of her squad as well; none of them wanted to cross swords with another human. Maybe it was because they had been brought up to believe that it was them against the vampires, though this was largely still true. They didn't have time for infighting when outside forces were trying to exterminate them. To Shinoa's understanding, before the end of the world humans had exercised dominion over the planet, and at the time homicide had been a common phenomenon. She couldn't imagine the logistics behind that.

It seemed that when humans had no worthy opponents to destroy, they resorted to killing each other.

"How close would you say we are to Sanguinem?" Yuu asked softly, coming up behind her.

Shinoa blinked in surprise, having not noticed his approach. "Let's see…not too long now, I'd say," she replied, counting on her fingers. "Another week or two at most. We're going in a straight line this time, after all."

Yuu hummed in agreement. They had taken a winding, erratic path across Japan after their escape from the JIDA, trying desperately to lose the literal armies that had been sent after them. For a while Shinoa had been afraid that they would be forced to dive into the sea and swim for their lives, but eventually their pursuers had given up on them, especially after the successful assault on Sanguinem. It appeared that General Kureto had higher priorities.

"A week or two, huh?" Yuu breathed, slipping his hands into his pockets. "It's been so long. Soon I'll be able to see Guren again. I wonder if he's alright…"

Shinoa bit her lip at the lieutenant's mention. During these past five months, Yuu had never once given up on the idea that they were going to save Guren. It was the entire reason they were even heading back to Sanguinem, as opposed to putting as much distance between them and the JIDA as physically possible.

But to be truthful, Shinoa didn't know how realistic that goal was. She had seen Guren's eyes that one day at the airport, when the Seraph had descended upon them all like hellfire. The telltale blood red eyes that betrayed possession. Guren had insisted that he had his demon under control, but it seemed that Shinoa was right not to believe him. She had seen those eyes elsewhere before.

The last time they had been in her late beloved sister, Mahiru Hiiragi. The demon who resided in Guren's sword.

The demon who now had a firm grip on the man's mind.

Ignorance was indeed bliss. Yuu didn't know anything about Mahiru or her history, except for the fact that she had once existed. He didn't know about everything her sister had gone through to create the Cursed Gear, or her relationship with Guren, or how Shinoa herself felt about her. It seemed that everything always led back to Mahiru, in the end. The girl who had helped bring about to coming of the apocalypse, as well as made the weapons necessary to survive it.

If anything, as a Hiiragi, Shinoa felt a certain measure of responsibility. Yuu had a right to know. He had a right to know that Guren was probably never coming back. She had never heard of someone fighting off a demon once it had possession of the mind and body, especially someone like a Guren, who had walked the line between control and chaos for so long.

"Yuu," she began, clenching her fingers together, "I need-"

She never got to finish her sentence, because a second later everything descended into chaos.

She felt the footsteps before she saw what they belonged to. Fast, heavy rumbles, like the earth itself was experiencing palpitations of the heart. She felt her own heart clench immediately as well. She knew that sound, knew it all too well. Her instincts began screaming at her to run, but her mind knew it was too late. The thing was already upon them. They would be forced to fight.

Well, so much for subtlety.

Turning on her heel, she grabbed Yuu and threw them both to the ground a millisecond before the Horseman crashed out onto the open street.

She felt something large and heavy blast past her ear, as she and Yuu both went crashing to the unforgiving concrete. The panicked shouts of her friends seized her ears a moment later, and then the sounds of blades being drawn, arrows being primed. A low, drawn out snarl reverberated through the air behind her, but she didn't have to look. She knew what it was.

"Horseman!" Kimizuki bellowed, raising his blades before him.

"Shit," Yuu growled, reaching for his sword. Shinoa rolled off of him and fished her scythe out of her pocket, giving it a twirl, until a fully sized weapon was resting in her palm.

Good thing she did, too, because immediately afterwards the Horseman tried to take her head off.

A heavy claw smashed into the concrete two feet to her right, sending a spray of debris flying into her eyes. Raising one arm to cover her face, she swung blindly with her scythe, and felt it catch on something thick and fleshy. A spray of hot, thick blood stained her arm, accompanied by an outraged screech, and she knew she had hit something important.

Then firm hands were grabbing her beneath the arms, and Yuu was dragging her to her feet, away from the monster's proximity. She peeked past her arm to see the ferocity of his expression, and a shallow cut above his eye where a piece of rubble had struck him.

"Come on, Shinoa," he said urgently. "You can't die here."

Meanwhile the Horseman had staggered back several feet, its severed arm laying dead on the asphalt between them. Shinoa managed to find her footing again and backed up to where the rest of her friends were, their weapons at the ready.

Of all the strange creatures and beings Shinoa had seen in her lifetime, the Horsemen of John would always be the most hideous. The long, warped limbs, the scaly wings, the gruesome mouth that was placed disturbingly where the abdomen should have been; everything about its appearance felt wrong. This particular specimen was larger than most, and it towered over them on the asphalt, one of its legs crushing a car beneath its sheer weight. It seemed to be getting ready to charge them again.

"We need to kill it before the convoy notices us!" Shinoa barked, switching her grip on her scythe. All this commotion was bound to be heard, not matter how many blocks away they were from the humans.

"Too late," Kimizuki said lowly, turning to look behind them.

Shinoa followed suit and was dismayed to find that the convoy had _definitely_ noticed them already. More than a dozen men were sprinting in their direction from the far end of the street, swords already out of their scabbards. It was either they killed the Horseman or they faced the convoy.

To be honest, she would rather have the former.

"Go for its legs!" she commanded, then they all charged forward. Mitsuba sent out a wave of energy from her axe, catching the monster square in the middle and causing it to stagger back a step.

Sensing the opportunity, both Shinoa and Yuu slipped beneath the Horseman and hacked at its legs, making sure to cut the limps at the joints. They swept through the creature's belly and emerged on the other side, trying to dodge out of reach.

But the monster reacted more quickly than them. It turned around its own axis and swung at them with its remaining arm, coming terrifyingly close to beheading Yuu on the spot. It only missed because of the loss of its legs, which sent it crashing to the ground not a moment too soon.

Before the Horseman could lash out at them again, a single green arrow buried itself into the monster's head and exploded, engulfing the upper torso in flames.

"Hurry up and kill it!" Yoichi yelled at them, unusually urgent. He was already nocking another arrow into his bow, preparing to fire again if necessary.

Shinoa put a hand to the ground, trying to get up in order to do just that, but before she could something swept in from the right, its blade plowing straight through the Horseman's body.

When she looked up, she saw Mikaela landing on the far side of the street, his blade dripping red. The Horseman now had a gaping wide hole in the center of its body, and she could see through it to the wave of humans still running towards them, blades at the ready. Then it disintegrated, turning into ash before being carried off by the wind.

Yuu helped her to her feet, and Shinoa smirked as she looked over at Mikaela, who was sheathing his sword. "I guess Horsemen are nothing to a true vampire like you, huh?"

The blond only sighed as he put away his weapon, the tentacles retracting from his arm. "No. Humans are just weak, is all. Besides, Yuu was in danger. I had no choice."

 _Yes, anything for Yuu, right?_ Shinoa sighed inwardly, but she knew better than to say so out loud. She didn't any more friction with Mikaela than there was already.

A moment later Kimizuki joined then with Yoichi close behind, flicking the blood off his blades. "Looks like we won't have to worry about the convoy after all," he said.

Shinoa just frowned, looking down the street. "What are you-"

Her words died off a second time, as she realized what the boy had meant.

A second Horseman had emerged to ambush the convoy on the street, and the humans who had been pursuing them were now more than occupied with trying not to be killed themselves. It was strange to see so many humans struggling against a single Horseman, but she had to remember that the monsters grew stronger the further they got from the walls. As she watched, one of the men was crushed beneath the creature's claw, his body splaying out into a patch of red on the concrete.

She watched the scene grimly, gripping the shaft of her staff. As much as she hated to admit it, this could be a blessing in disguise. They could escape unhindered now.

"Let's go, everyone," she urged, returning her scythe to its normal form. "While they're distracted."

The rest of the team nodded and prepared to leave, running back to grab their bags where they had been dropped. Well, all but one.

And of course that one had to be Yuu.

"Wait, we can't just leave them there!" the swordsman said, his sword still drawn. "They're going to die if we don't do something!"

"Yuu, please understand," Shinoa said, feeling a little exasperated. "I don't want to leave them either, but we have to get away before the situation gets worse."

"She's right, Yuu," Mikaela said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's the price we have to pay. They won't feel any gratitude if you save them, anyways. Just-"

"I don't care!" Yuu snapped. He slapped Mikaela's hand off his shoulder, and then he was running at full speed towards the convoy, his sword at his side.

"Oh, that _utter_ fool," Mitsuba grumbled, summoning her axe again.

 _Tell me about it,_ Shinoa thought darkly, before they all chased after him.

The Horseman was facing away from Shinoa's squad, as it was busy decimating the convoy. Taking advantage of its distraction, Yuu leapt through the air and stabbed his sword through the monster's back, burying the blade up to the hilt. It screeched in pain and began thrashing around violently, forcing Yuu to hold onto the handle of his sword for dear life.

The rest of the squad reached him a moment later, and a quick succession of blades tore through the Horseman's body. It fell to the ground slowly, allowing Yuu to wrench his sword free and leap to the ground, before crashing against the side of a building and disintegrating.

But Shinoa didn't have any time to celebrate the victory, because a moment later someone attacked her from behind.

A pair of burly hands grabbed her neck and drove her to the ground, so hard that it knocked the air out of her lungs. As she gasped for breath, the face of the convoy's captain came into view, his eyes twisted with hatred.

"We finally found all you damn traitors," he hissed. Off to the side, Shinoa could hear the sound of clashing blades and knew the rest of the convoy had begun attacking her friends. "General Kureto's got a fine bounty on your heads."

"Let her go!" Yuu shouted, from where he was pinned down by three separate swordsmen.

The captain ignored him and instead raised his own weapon, pointing it straight at the spot between Shinoa's eyes, which went wide at the movement. Her heart began pounding in her chest, and she started to squirm, desperately trying to break free, but she was too effectively pinned.

"I guess not every Hiiragi is worthy," he murmured, before bringing his blade down.

Several things happened at once in that moment. First, Shinoa closed her eyes. She didn't want to look death in the face. She lacked the bravery to do so. Second, she heard several shouts behind her as Yuu broke free from his opponents, and then he was running towards her, screaming her name. But she knew it was too late. The blade was already too close to her throat. Yuu would never be able to see her unless he-

A dark green blade entered the captain's body through the ribcage, and then it sprouted out from the other side, as Yuu stabbed him clean through the chest.

The force of the blow sent the blade veering off to the side, and it struck the concrete by Shinoa's ear, a mere inch from injuring her flesh. Then the captain coughed a spit of blood all over her front, as Yuu twisted his sword inside the man's body.

"I'm sorry," the boy whispered, before pulling his blade free.

The captain's dead body slumped to the ground face first, motionless. Yuu's hands were shaking, and then he actually dropped his sword, something Shinoa had never seen him do no matter how many times he went into combat. But he had never gone into combat against humans before, and he had never once taken the life of another. Not until today.

"Yuu…" Shinoa murmured, shocked into stillness, even as the battle raged around them, even as Kimizuki bellowed that they needed to go _now_ , before reinforcements arrived. She hadn't seen that look of desolation on the boy's face since the day he had first turned into a Seraph. It was an expression she absolutely hated.

"Shinoa!" Kimizuki yelled, kicking a soldier square in the chest. "We need to get out of here now!"

That was enough to snap the sergeant back into reality, and she grabbed Yuu's hand.

"Come on, Yuu. We have to go," she urged, reaching down to pick up the boy's sword. She slipped it into its scabbard before dragging him along behind her, towards the far end of the street. "We have to go now. Please, Yuu."

But the swordsman was listless, in a world off on his own. The rest of Shinoa's squad kicked their assaulters away from them, and then they were running away from the convoy, away from the guilt, and away from the weight of life Yuu had taken with his own blade.

* * *

A/N

Hey guys, Banshee here. I've never written for Owari before, so this is new for me. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to write all the characters, but I think I'll get it down soon enough.

I decided to write this fic for a number of reasons, the biggest one being that I ship Yuu and Shinoa to death (not that there's anything wrong with Mika, it's just my preference). Secondly, there don't seem to be many complete fics that flesh out everything that could have happened after the anime, as well as what would happen to Guren, Krul, or how Lest Karr would institute his rule over Japan. This story will seek to cover all those topics, as well as put Yuu and Shinoa together.

As for those wondering where Makoto is, I'll explain that in the next chapter.

Whether I'll be able to do all those things well remains to be seen.

Right now the story's scope feels rather large, and I can already tell it's going to be a long one if I do decide to go through with it, which depends on how interested other people are in this story. I will write the first few chapters regardless.

Thanks for reading!

~Banshee


	2. Bloodlust

Chapter 2: Bloodlust

It was important to remember that every puppet had strings, whether they were visible or not.

Ferid Bathory was standing near the edge of a stone balcony, both hands folded behind his back. The sky above had a ceiling, by which he meant that the surface of the world formed the roof of the city in which they resided. He was currently located within the vampiric city of Tenebris-Lux, a relatively isolated establishment far from the war front, which was rapidly deteriorating beneath the continued onslaught of the Imperial Demon Army.

Indeed, though Ferid himself had been the one to supply enough information to the humans for them to complete the Seraph of the End, he found it amusing just how much raw power the livestock had acquired in such a small amount of time. He might have even miscalculated the effect the Seraph would have on the tempo of the war; it was entirely possible that the humans would eradicate every vampire from Japan before he was ready.

Well, that would only serve to make things all the more interesting.

Something flickered at the edge of his vision, and he turned to see that the King of Japan was taking another sip from his glass of blood, stirring it absentmindedly in one hand while his eyes saw off into the far distant future. He was sitting at a small table against the edge of the balcony, one leg crossed over the other, as he quietly contemplated the state of his reign.

"Tell me, Ferid," he said in his deceptively childlike voice, "Why is it that the same blood tastes different depending on the drinker?"

The seventh progenitor smiled slightly, a single fang poking through his upper lip. "I couldn't say, my king. I would assume there is some psychological explanation to it."

"Mph. Psychology. Damn humans and their science," the king muttered, taking another sip of the blood.

"Well, they _are_ currently winning the war," Ferid pointed out airily, punctuating it with an exaggerated sigh.

"Mmm." Third progenitor Lest Karr set his glass down and peeked over the edge of the balcony instead, taking in the sight offered by the terrifying drop below.

There, literal miles below them, a river of molten lava carved its way through the underbelly of Tenebris-Lux. Its harsh orange glow radiated all the way up to where Lest was sitting, and he could feel the heat on his face even at this great distance. He supposed he shouldn't be particularly impressed. It was the meaning behind this city's namesake, after all. Tenebris-Lux translated loosely to 'darkness with light.'

It was supposed to be one of the Japanese vampires' safest havens, buried so far beneath the bedrock that the original builders had accidentally burrowed beneath the vein of a dormant volcano, and were forced to stop. Tenebris-Lux was situated about as far south as one could get without actually leaving the mainland, and Lest had been brought here upon Ferid's insistence that he be kept safe, which the king had thought was simply laughable. Distance meant nothing in the face of something like the Seraph. It was only a matter of time.

Thinking about the angelic being brought another frown to his young face, and he traced a finger around the edge of his glass. He had never thought that Krul Tepes's treason went back so far that it preceded the very war they were currently embroiled in. To think that the former queen had struck a deal with _humans_ , allowing them to gain access to the Seraph of the End, and now Lest found himself joining a ship that had already begun to sink. Though he still believed that he would have done a much better job of governing Japan, he did not yet know if he was capable of cleaning of Krul's mess first.

"Oh, yes. That reminds me," Lest said, drawing Ferid's attention once more. "How is our dear captive traitor doing?"

The seventh progenitor's smile deepened, and Lest smirked bemusedly when he saw a look of sadism pass the lesser vampire's face. "She's doing _wonderfully_ , my king. She hardly acts out in her cell anymore. I imagine it is only a matter of time before she breaks."

Lest hummed in acknowledgement, holding his glass of blood to his equally red eyes and staring into it. "Have you been abiding by the diet I assigned to you?"

"Of course. One cup every one hundred hours. You should see how she reacts when we come in to feed her, my king. At first she refused to touch anything we offered her, but eventually she gave in and started to feed. It appears even third progenitors cannot hold out forever."

"Good. Continue starving her," Lest instructed, picking up his cane from a nearby chair and turning it over in his hands. He was slightly bothered by his subordinate's comment, seeing as he was also a third progenitor, but he was quick to remind himself that he and Krul were not the same. He was younger, for one, and decidedly more powerful. Not to mention that he did not give into petty fear and strike contracts with humans.

"If anything, she could serve as a useful asset in the future," Lest continued, finishing the last of his blood. It slid down his throat, thick and warm, and set his nerves sparking, though he did not let it show on his face. "It would be unwise for us to terminate our few connections to the humans."

He heard Ferid exhale rather loudly behind him, and he turned to give his subordinate a questioning look.

"Well, if I may, my liege," Ferid said gracefully, "Just how do you plan to turn the tide in this war?"

Lest just smiled knowingly, and turned away from him. He had taken of his top hat so that he could enjoy his drink in comfort, but now he picked up and put it back on his head, leaving his seat and leaning against the balcony railing.

Instead of answering the question, he tapped his cane on the stone floor and asked, "Do you not feel that it is surreal that we are even losing in the first place, Ferid?"

The lesser vampire blinked at the inquiry, but the unreadable smile returned to his face a moment later. "I suppose it is, my king. Why do you ask?"

Lest merely shrugged, and Ferid noticed that the look of self assurance never left the higher vampire's face. This would be a difficult puppet to control. "When I was still in Germany, my grip over the greater European territory was solid. Even there I heard of how dangerous humans could be, of course, but I never truly believed it. Not until I came here."

They fell into silence, until Lest chose to continue the conversation.

"As for your question, Ferid, I cannot yet give you any specifics. I have a plan of sorts, but I would prefer not to voice it until I am ready. I'm sure you understand."

Lest turned his blood red eyes on his subordinate, his gaze unwavering, and Ferid found himself having to lower his head in submission. "Of course, my liege."

The king smile satisfactorily, then went back to gazing out past the balcony. "It is truly, ironic, Ferid. A thousand generations and we have still lost the arms race. We acquired immortality, shed our emotional shackles, multiplied our strength a hundred fold, and abandoned the concept of love, yet we still find ourselves at the mercy of the humans."

Ferid leaned against a support column, crossing his arms. "Not for much longer, I pray."

"Mmm. Which reminds me; have you been keeping tabs on that one rogue squad you told me about?"

"I have indeed. My subordinates are tracking them as we speak."

"Good. They have a part to play in this game as well. For now, we will continue to hold the humans at Sanguinem."

With that said, the third progenitor turned away from the magma river and returned to the greater palace behind them, his cane tapping rhythmically upon the stone work.

* * *

They ran until they couldn't run anymore, weaving their way through the ruins of a city that had once stood proud. For a good while the human convoy was at their heels no matter what they did, but given more time Shinoa managed to shake them off, until finally they had put considerable distance between them and their pursuers.

It had been early morning when they left the shopping complex, but it was sunset when Shinoa's squad finally fell into an abandoned hotel building, miles away from where they had started running. They all filed up the stairs immediately, not taking any chances, climbing upwards until they had passed the tenth floor of the building and found a room that wasn't too trashed.

Yoichi murmured something about finding a key, but Kimizuki ignored him and kicked the door in instead, allowing them to drag themselves inside.

It was small and cramped in the room, but they could hardly care less. Two twin beds were set side by side against the wall, their covers and mattresses ripped to shreds, and the mirror hung on the opposite side of the wall was marred by a large crack in its center. They all started falling onto the ruined beds or finding empty chairs to sit on, needing to catch a breather after all the running they had just done.

All but Mitsuba, who instead stalked across the room and struck Yuu across the face.

"You hopeless idiot," the blonde snarled, getting up in the boy's face, who seemed unable to meet her eyes. "You almost got us all killed back there!"

"Mitsuba…" Shinoa sighed, putting a hand to her forehead and reaching out to the girl with her other.

But the blonde just shot her a withering glare, and Shinoa's hand retracted. "I can't believe you did that. I thought you knew better!" she seethed, seizing Yuu by the collar and shaking him like a rag doll. "Those guys even tried to kill us after we saved them!"

"Back off, Mitsuba," Mikaela growled, coming in between the two of them out of nowhere. The shorter girl was knocked back a few steps, caught off guard. "Don't talk to Yuu like that."

Mitsuba just sneered, and it was then that Shinoa remembered the blonde was particularly sensitive to losing teammates to dumb decisions. "Like I care what you think, _vampire._ You guys might not have discipline, but us humans do! Yuu needs to understand that he made a mistake-"

"Do you think he doesn't know?" Mikaela snarled, throwing a hand behind him towards his adoptive brother. "Look at his face!"

Yuu was staring forlornly at the ripped up carpet, his lips pursed hard together, brow furrowed so deeply that he looked angry. He wasn't saying anything, but this hands were balled into fists and his arms were shaking, like he was barely holding himself back from smashing something.

Mitsuba saw this and felt her gaze soften a little, but her anger still remained. "Alright, fine. Whatever," she muttered, turning away and storming out of the room. "As long as he doesn't do it again."

"Ah…wait, Mitsuba!" Yoichi chased after the blonde when she stalked her way down the hall, slipping through the kicked in door. Kimizuki just sighed before following his friend, footsteps receding until they could be heard no longer.

"Come on, Yuu," Mikaela said softly, leading the swordsman away. "I'll help you treat your wounds."

When Shinoa turned around she realized she was completely alone in the empty hotel room, alone amongst the torn up wallpaper and the sofa stuffing that smelled vaguely of death.

Exhaling slowly, she turned away from the door and approached the wall, pressing her forehead against it. It had been a while since they had had to run away from their enemies like that, which was to say this wasn't the first time it had happened. But at least they had managed to avoid inflicting any casualties before. This was the first time any of them had been forced to take another human life.

Looking down at her hand, she clenched it into a fist and pressed it to her chest. She had never done that either. Killed another human, that is. She had killed vampires, but to her that felt like something different. Vampires weren't humans. They hardly felt emotion. Even if logic told her it was hypocritical, she didn't consider the life of a vampire to be precious. Not like a human life.

Now that she thought about it, she hardly knew anyone who had been forced to go to the lengths Yuu had today. The closest example she could think of was actually Guren, but he had taken her sister's life after she became a demon, and was thus driven by necessity.

Even if the captain had fully intended to kill her, she wished there was some other way.

She looked down at her shirt, and suddenly realized she was still in the bloodstained clothing from that morning. The bodily fluids had by now dried into a dark red crust, and the shirt felt like a solid piece of cardboard on her body. Holding back the bile that rose in her throat, she pulled the shirt over her head and hunted something clean out of her backpack, shrugging it on without much conviction.

 _I guess not every Hiiragi is worthy._

The captain's words, the last ones he would utter before Yuu killed him. Shinoa found herself frowning deeply as she recounted the words. What did she care? She didn't consider herself to be a Hiiragi anymore. It was just another name to her now. Out here, the patriarchy had no influence over her. She was free.

Well, she would like to think so anyway.

Crumpling the bloodstained shirt in her hand, she threw it inside her backpack, not bothering to clean it. She could take care of it later. There were more important things on her mind at the moment.

Just what exactly they were going to do once they reached Sanguinem, for example.

No matter how many times she ran over it in her head, Shinoa had no idea how they were going to pull it off without having someone close to them die. A literal army stood between them and Guren, and it went without saying that Guren probably wasn't sitting around waiting for them to pick him up, either. Convincing him would prove difficult as well.

 _Too many questions._ It was times like these that made her wish she wasn't the sergeant in the group. If there were someone older or more experienced with them, would they have taken over control eventually? She thought about Makoto, her senior who wielded the familiar trident. Not that he mattered anymore. Makoto had been gone for a long time by now.

She still couldn't believe that he had actually chosen to leave them all behind. It had come out of the blue one day, not long after they had barely survived a tangle with a stray group of vampires, and they were just beginning to clean the blood off of their blades.

"I'm sorry, everyone," he'd said softly, before putting his trident away. "I can't do this anymore."

Shinoa had tried to stop him, of course. When they were isolated out here like this, they needed as many allies as they could manage. But Makoto had been unwavering. He had stayed with them for this long, he said, because he felt he owed it to his dead teammates, so that their lives wouldn't go to waste.

"But now that I think about it," the trident wielder had said, "They're dead. They're long gone by now. And they're never coming back. I don't have a family anymore, Shinoa. They've all moved on without me. Without them I've got no reason to kill."

Then he packed up his bags, and was gone the next morning, and Shinoa had been unable to find it within herself to stop him.

She knew what it felt like to think there was no point in protecting someone.

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she left their things in the room and went off to find Mitsuba.

* * *

Yuu was silent as Mika dressed his wounds, like his mouth was sewn shut by the bandages being wound around his skin.

The blonde vampire bit his lip nervously as he worked, not sure what he should say. Or maybe he shouldn't be trying to say anything at all. Even after everything he had been through, he could still say that he had never killed a human being before. He couldn't help Yuu this time.

So instead he focused on bandaging his friend, dabbing alcohol on the deeper cuts before wrapping them in cloth. He noticed the swordsman clench his arms a few times in pain, but he still said nothing, because his pain was silent, not the kind one could hear with their ears.

Several minutes later Mika was done, and without anything to distract him he simply sat there, on the mattress behind Yuu. They had come to the room across the one they had just left, for no particular reason aside from Mika's desire to get away from the rest of the squad. He still didn't feel entirely comfortable around any of them. He didn't feel like he could trust them. And he was pretty sure the feeling was entirely mutual.

They sat like that for so long Mika thought he might as well just give Yuu his space, but the dark haired boy surprised him by speaking first.

"We're almost there, aren't we?" he said, looking down at the bandages bound around his arms. "We're almost to Sanguinem."

Mika just watched him forlornly from behind. "Yes."

"I can't believe we're going back there, Mika." Yuu clenched a fist near his hip, like he wanted to grasp the hilt of his sword. "After all these years. After I escaped from there. I never thought I'd have to go back."

"We don't have to," Mika pointed out, leaning back on his hands. "We can still turn back. We can still go somewhere else. We don't _have_ to do this."

But Yuu shook his head, much to Mika's exasperation. The swordsman stood up from the bed, still bare chested, as his wounds had extended into his torso. He crossed the room and stared into the cracked mirror. "I can't leave Guren behind. He's family."

Mika showed his teeth, tugging at the collar of his jacket. "You saw what he tried to do to us back at the airport, Yuu. He would have killed us all if he had the chance. If we go back there now I'll bet he'll try again. Is that how family treats each other?'

"But that wasn't _him_ , Mika," Yuu protested, lowering his head, but he didn't turn to face his brother. "He's been…possessed, or something. I don't know. But that wasn't the real Guren at the airport. The real Guren wouldn't have tried to hurt us if he could help it. That guy practically raised me."

"Only to fulfill his own ends," Mika pointed out, crossing his arms. "Think realistically, Yuu. The only people who aren't trying to use you are me and the rest of your squad…probably."

The dark haired boy snorted towards the mirror. "Then what am I supposed to do, just leave him?"

"I would."

Yuu looked up at the mirror, looked at his brother's reflection in the broken glass, and saw than a jagged crack ran through the vampire's face so that he seemed split between two different extremes. He had to admit to himself that Mika wasn't the same kind hearted boy he used to be back when they were trapped in Sanguinem. He was more hardened now. More ruthless.

"Look, I know vampires slowly lose their capacity for emotion as time goes on," Yuu said, turning to face his brother, "but the Mika I know wouldn't leave Guren behind."

But the blond just shook his head, getting up from the bed as well. "People change, Yuu. Even you will." He crossed over to the door and pulled it open, but paused before leaving. "I'm not saying I don't think family is important anymore. But sometimes you have to pick and choose who you love more. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices."

Then he was gone, letting the door click softly shut behind him.

* * *

Shinoa found Mitsuba on the next floor above, sitting inside a gaping hole that had blown out of the wall.

It was over ten stories to the ground, but the blonde didn't seem to care, dangling her legs over the abyss as she sat on top of the rubble. The hole in the wall stretched from floor to ceiling, and Mitsuba looked like she was staring into the mouth of some great beast, daring it to devour her whole.

Yoichi and Kimizuki were staying inside a room across the hall, sitting at a desk and chatting idly with one another. They seemed to be there just to keep an eye on Mitsuba, if anything else, for which Shinoa was glad. The blonde had the tendency to act without thinking when she was upset, not unlike a certain bombastic swordsman. It was ironic, in its own way.

Shinoa stopped walking in the middle of the hall, behind where Mitsuba was sitting and where the two boys were watching her from the room. She looked at them questioningly, and they just shrugged back, to which she replied with a disapproving frown. Really, boys were so dense. They had no idea how to comfort an agitated maiden.

Not that Mitsuba fit the stereotypical definition of a maiden, but her point stood.

She walked up by the blonde and sat down next her, though she did not dangle her legs over the edge, instead laying them out parallel to the wall. She knew better than to tempt fate.

"Still mad at Yuu?" she asked.

Mitsuba spared her a cursory glance, then went back to looking out at the cityscape. "Of course I am. Freaking idiot almost got us all killed."

Shinoa smiled wryly. "What's new? He's always doing that."

"Yeah, but this time we came way too close. That captain was inches away from taking your head off, and Yuu ended up having to kill him."

The sergeant drew one knee up to her chest, laying an arm across it. "I didn't know you cared about me that much, Mii-chan."

Mitsuba just snorted at the jibe. "Well, I don't hate you or anything. Besides, you know about my past. I can't stand it when people cause others to get hurt for no good reason."

"Yes, but think about how Yuu must feel," Shinoa said, risking a peek down below. It was dizzying. "He's lived his whole life segregating humans and vampires as 'good' and 'bad.' It must have been difficult for him to kill that captain."

But Mitsuba just sighed, leaning against the outer edge of the hole in the wall, picking up a little speck of rubble and flicking it over the abyss.

"I guess you wouldn't understand, Shinoa. You've never lost someone important to you before."

Shinoa pursed her lips over the inaccuracy of that statement, but she said nothing. Now was not the time to argue over who had suffered more.

"I keep thinking the same thing over and over again the closer we get to that vampire city," Mitsuba continued. "We're going to keep running into situations like this. Eventually we're going to stop getting lucky. Eventually one of us is going to die. I don't know if it's worth it."

"Kimizuki and Yuu will go to Sanguinem whether follow them or not," Shinoa pointed out. "We might as well help them."

The blonde just pursed her lips and turned her collar up to the wind. "I know. But I wish there was some way to convince them otherwise. This whole idea feels like a death wish."

It wasn't the fact that Kimizuki could probably hear them talking that bothered her, or the realization that Mitsuba was being unusually negative. No, the bigger problem was with how much the blonde's words resonated within her.

She was bothered by the fact that she agreed with her.

* * *

Mikaela was closing Yuu's door behind him when Shinoa returned to the floor below, a disgruntled look on his face.

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Mitsuba had suggested. "Try to knock some sense into that thick skull of his."

She had figured she might as well.

"Is he doing alright?" the sergeant asked, approaching the fledgling vampire.

Mikaela pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked down at her, and Shinoa was suddenly made acutely aware of just how short she was. The look on his face made it obvious he was in no mood to talk, but in the end he simply answered her question.

"I dressed his wounds. He's definitely upset, though. I couldn't snap him out of it. Just give him some space."

Shinoa watched as he trudged along down the hall, hands shoved into his pockets. She could guess easily enough that he and Yuu had had some sort of argument, but she could only wonder at its cause. There was so much she didn't know about their relationship, even though they were so important to each other.

For a moment she considered following Mikaela's advice and leaving Yuu alone, but she shook her head at the last second. It was her responsibility as the group leader to tend to the well being of her soldiers.

Besides…she didn't want Yuu to be alone, wallowing in his own guilt, with no one to turn to. She had been there before. It was one of the greater pains she had ever experienced.

Grabbing the doorknob in one hand, she twisted it and let herself into the room.

Yuu was just about to pull a new shirt over his head when she entered, and he turned when he heard the sound of the door opening, the shirt still wrapped around his head.

"Hello? Mika, is that you?" he asked, voice muffled by the fabric.

"Oh, uh, no. Sorry," Shinoa said, averting her gaze. But she caught a grief glimpse of the boy's body despite her best efforts, and she found herself flushing gently as she forced herself to stare a corner.

Yuu finally tugged his shirt back on, reaching up to adjust his hair. "Oh, Shinoa. Hey."

"Hey," she breathed, strangely captivated, then she blinked and did the mental equivalent of shaking her head. What was wrong with her? "I was just wondering if you were okay."

The young swordsman smiled wanly at her, turning away to rearrange his things. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little shaken up, I guess."

Shinoa frowned, not convinced. The boy was obviously _not_ okay, since from her experience Yuu almost never admitted that he was 'shaken up.' Her eyes caught the movement of his hand, and saw that there was a gently bleeding cut on the inside of his palm.

"I thought Mikaela dressed your wounds?" she asked, walking over and reaching for the injured hand.

Yuu blinked and held the hand to his chest, bringing it out of her reach. "It's okay. I don't want to bandage my hands anyway. It makes it awkward to hold my sword."

"You're bandaging it anyway," Shinoa said bluntly, walking over and grabbing the necessary items. "It could get infected. Sergeant's orders."

Yuu's eyes bored into her. "And what if we have to fight again?"

"We won't, if it's up to me," Shinoa said simply, holding up the rubbing alcohol for emphasis.

The swordsman met her eyes for a moment, and decided he wasn't going to convince the girl otherwise. "Alright, fine. But not here. I feel suffocated in this room. Let's go somewhere with more space first."

* * *

There was a dining hall on the first floor of the hotel, behind two tall double doors near the front entrance. Shinoa was a little nervous about putting this much distance between them and the rest of the team, but didn't say anything.

The dining hall itself was absolutely extravagant, or it had been at some point in time, when humans were not livestock and the sun did not rise on a broken world. The floor was carpeted in a rich scarlet color, detailed with intricate little vines and baby angels darting in and out amongst them. Thick satin curtains hung from the shuttered windows, which were made out of stained glass, and the center of the hall was filled with circular tables covered in white cloths, their tops adorned with expensive silverware and crystalline wine glasses.

She could have easily imagined some sort of high class ball taking place here, except now the carpet was worn out and faded. One of the curtains was torn and dangling by a single thread. The silverware have been spared, but they were rusted and the glasses were filled with dust.

It was a broken sort of beauty.

They both sat at table at the center of the hall, and Shinoa giggled when Yuu mockingly pulled out a seat for her. They sat side by side beneath the velvet curtains, facing towards the far end of the room, where an empty stage served as the graveyard for a better time.

Yuu put his hand between them on the table, and Shinoa dutifully began bandaging it, making sure to clean the wound thoroughly first.

"Before you say it, I know it was stupid," he said softly; voices carried well in the emptiness of the hall. "I shouldn't have gone back to help the convoy. In the end you almost got hurt."

Shinoa just exhaled slowly through her nose, dabbing alcohol against the boy's palm. "Protection is in your nature, Yuu. I don't blame you for wanting to help them."

"But you wouldn't have done the same thing."

"No."

"Why not?"

 _Shouldn't it be obvious?_ she wanted to lament, but didn't say so out loud, knowing better. Yuu was probably the most idealistic person she had ever met. There was no end to the people he wanted to protect.

"If I had to choose between you and the convoy, I would have chosen you," Shinoa explained, winding a bandage around the boy's hand. He winced, but she didn't care. "You're both humans, but I care about you more. Isn't it obvious, Yuu? Sometimes you can't save everyone. Sometimes you have to choose."

"Mika said the same thing," Yuu muttered, picking up a rusted fork and twirling it around in his fingers. "Why do we have to choose? He said we need to decide who we love more in the end, but it's not like I've got some list ordered from top to bottom in my head. Everything's all fucked…"

Even if logic trumped his argument, Shinoa knew he was right too, in his own sort of way. Things weren't so simply as vampire or human for them, not anymore. They had been traveling with a noble for the past five months, after all. She never would have guessed she would be doing that before. If anything, they had more humans as enemies than vampires now.

The carefully drawn lines that had held for so long were beginning to deteriorate.

"Mika said that maybe we should give up on Guren, too," Yuu continued, gripping the fork until it bent in his hand. "But I'm not just going to leave him behind. I can't. You're going to help me get him back, aren't you, Shinoa?"

Shinoa finished the last of the bandages at that moment, but she didn't let go of his hand, and Yuu didn't pull away either. They watched each other for a while from opposite sides of the table, a silent battle of wills, one that ended when she sighed softly and cupped Yuu's hand in both of hers.

"I can't promise that we're going to succeed, Yuu. But we're definitely going to try. And that's what really matters, right?"

At last Yuu smiled, and Shinoa felt her heart soften a little. The swordsman squeezed her fingers back, gently and so fleetingly, but for now it was enough.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, two pairs of eyes were watching their private moment together, from a rooftop across the street from the hotel building.

"Oh, they're just so cute together, don't you think?" said seventeenth progenitor Chess Belle, peeking through a pair of binoculars at the human couple. "They're holding hands down there!"

Behind her, Horn Skuld was standing on the rooftop as well with her arms crossed, and she sighed at her partner's eccentric behavior. "They're just livestock, Chess. Who cares about their mating habits?"

"Oh, I just wish we knew what they were saying," Chess sighed, adjusting her lenses. "Don't be like that, Horn. Humans are actually pretty interesting once you get to know them a little! I chat up some of the prisoners every now and then, when I'm bored. I mean, I always end up sucking them dry anyway, but I have some fun along the way."

Horn just shrugged to no one in particular, by now used to Chess's strangeness. They had known each other for centuries and she was still on closer to truly understanding the vampire noble. Tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear, she said, "Do what you like, I suppose. Make sure to send a message to master Crowley about their position."

"I don't see why we can't just engage them right now," Chess pouted, still peeking through her binoculars. "They're just kids! We could probably have them for breakfast, Horn!"

"First of all, it's well past breakfast time," Horn corrected, playing absently with her whip. "Secondly, we have orders from master Bathory himself to keep these children alive. Besides, we've fought them once before. Half of them are using weapons from the Black Demon series. Without master Crowley we might not make it out in one piece."

"Tch. You're no fun," Chess sighed, before taking out a communication device and typing out a brief update.

While Chess typed, Horn watched the hotel building intently, zeroing in on where Mitsuba was sitting at the edge of the hole in the wall, above the abyss. Instinct told her these children were more dangerous than they appeared. One was from the Hiiragi patriarchy, after all, and another was a traitor of their kind.

And of course, there was the boy carrying the Seraph gene.

One of two people left in the world capable of bringing about the End Times.

* * *

Living for over a thousand years didn't make pain any easier to bear.

Krul sank her teeth into her own tongue as she fought down the urge to scream, clenching her jaw so hard that she actually drew blood, and she began drinking it greedily on the spot, if only for the placebo effect that it granted her. She hadn't had real blood in over three days, and the hunger was beginning to tear into her from the inside, like someone had stuffed a rabid rat down her throat so that it could wreak havoc in her intestines, claws sharp enough to split her belly in two.

She ended up letting out a soft groan anyways, rolling over on the floor of her cell so that she was splayed on her stomach. It was endless torture, the repetition of the cycle that damned Ferid Bathory had placed her under. First they would feed her, then let her starve to the brink of insanity, then feed her again, but never enough to pull her all the way back from that edge, so that she was constantly teetering at the lip of the abyss, only one mental slip up from being devoured by her hunger and turning into a demon.

Lifting her head from the carpet, she blearily took in her surroundings. Her cell actually did not look like much of one; there was a bed, and the floor was soft carpet. But the walls were unadorned, and there wasn't a single drop of blood anywhere in sight. The room might as well have been made out of solid concrete. It would serve her just as well, or as little.

She turned and looked at the far wall, at the pane of bulletproof glass that fenced her off from the rest of the world. Perhaps, when she was at full strength, she would have been able to break through it, but not when she was so weakened. She already knew that the glass was designed to resist the strength of even noble progenitors. Two guards were also stationed outside the glass, facing away from her; if she were to attempt to break out, they would subdue her with ease.

Dragging herself to the bed, she leaned against it with her head thrown back on the mattress, pupils beginning to dilate into large, dark red pools. She was still in the same noble robes she had been wearing that day at the airport, the day Ferid had turned the tables on her, the day her treason had been exposed and she had been toppled from the throne of Queen. It was plastered to her pale skin from all the nervous sweat.

Thinking about Ferid Bathory sent her blood boiling, but the most she could do to express her anger was take the bedsheets in her teeth and begin tearing at them. She hated Ferid Bathory. She hated him more than the most disgusting human who walked across this cursed earth. If he was ever so unfortunate to allow Krul to escape from here, she would personally take him and tear his body into pieces, limb by limb, until there was only his conniving head left with his neck hanging in one ruined flap of skin, and then she would stick his head on a pike and leave it there for an eternity.

She was starting to see spots. She thought about Mikaela. Was he alright out there? Had he managed to escape? Was he even alive? She shouldn't be worrying about him. She was barely holding onto her own life. They kept the lights burning in through the glass at all hours of the day in here; to humans confinement in total darkness would have been torture, but for vampires it was the opposite. She felt like she could wither beneath the omnipresent light.

Her heart leapt in her chest when she heard the sound of the door opening. Someone had come with blood. She could smell it through its plastic casing already; a common vampire was walking into the cell chamber with a whole cart of them in his hands, before opening a small slot in the glass wall and dropping a single pack inside.

Krul wanted to pounce on it and tear into the package with all the savagery her teeth would allow her, but she restrained herself, knowing that it would make the guards think they had broken her, which they hadn't. Not yet, anyway. She still had her pride. She was a vampire noble. She was a third progenitor. She had her pride…

Dragging herself to her feet, she walked over to the pack of blood and tore open the top before tilting her head back and drinking.

It was like tasting the ichor of gods. Usually Krul tended to be picky with the kind of blood she drank, but that was back when she was queen, not when she was a prisoner charged with treason. Right now everything tasted like love. She tilted back and drank all the blood in one swig, then stuck her long thin tongue inside the pack and started licking up the little drops stuck to the inside, not wanting to waste a single drop. Soon they would come around to collect the empty packs from her.

And endless cycle. First she would starve, and then they would feed her. It seemed like they waited just over four days before allowing her to drink. Four days. The maximum time a vampire could go without feeding, even the most powerful of them all, even Krul or even Lest _fucking_ Karr. He was probably King of Japan by now. Lest was probably the one who had decided to put her on this depraved diet in the first place. She would have his head, too. She would have all their heads.

Everyone who knew Ferid Bathory would regret throwing her into this desolate cell.

Having licked the blood pack clean by now, she tossed it at the wall and crawled toward the bed, satisfied for now. Her body had been conditioned somewhat during these past months; she was learning to function normally on less and less blood. Curling up on the mattress, ignoring the bedsheets she had torn to shreds minutes earlier, she fell asleep dreaming about bloody revenge.

After a few hours, however, her thoughts turned to a certain blond vampire instead.

 _I'm coming, Mika. I promise._

* * *

A/N

Just for the record, I don't usually update this often (anyone who has been following me for any length of time knows this) but I figured I might as well get the momentum going on this story.

Thanks for the relatively positive reviews on the first chapter! I'll seek to improve my character portrayal as I continue to write this. Tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading!

~Banshee


	3. Death and Desire

"While Mahiru Hiiragi remains widely famous for her feat of completing the Cursed Gear, the amount of research as well as the circumstances that led to her success remain largely in mystery. Rather, history seems content to remember what she gave to the human race, which was the tools necessary to survive the apocalypse.

Today she is more of a martyr than anything else, a symbol of hope, power, and perhaps even love. She was renowned for her kind and giving nature, in a world run by a patriarchy who placed everything in the meaning of power. Perhaps we should think not about what Mahiru Hiiragi lost the fateful night she lost her life, and instead ponder the people she left behind. Her legacy may live on in those she loved, unbeknownst to us all."

-Karen Ichinose, excerpt from _A Brief History of the Hiiragi Clan_

 _"_ Kureto? Hmm…well, he's very different from Mahiru, that's for sure. They weren't exactly two peas in the same pod growing up. Kureto's more…pragmatic, I suppose. He might not lead the clan the same way Mahiru would have. But he will lead. Of that I have no doubt."

-Shinya Hiiragi

* * *

Chapter 3: Death and Desire

Shinoa had once been told that life was beautiful because it was transient. So by that logic, dreams must be gorgeous.

But not hers. Her dreams were hideous.

She was standing in the midst of a rooftop garden, like a fantasy within a dream. Flowers grew from the earth, but the roses and tulips sprouting around her were far removed from the ground, stories in the air atop the mansion built to house the Hiiragi family. The sky was a perfect blue; the satin of her dress was kind to her skin. She had dressed extra nice today. It was a special day, after all.

Behind her, Mahiru Hiiragi was sitting at a small table placed at the center of the garden, sipping languidly on a cup of tea. She looked majestic no matter what she was doing, Shinoa's sister; her ashen colored hair, a lighter shade than Shinoa's, framed a gentle and open face. Shinoa found herself watching her sister rather than the flowers, and if she could perhaps she would prefer to wrap Mahiru in a bouquet, in only to preserve her purity forever.

There was a number of attendants standing at the far side of the garden, turned respectfully away from them so that the sisters might have their privacy. They were either from lower ranked branch families or simply hired hands; either way, Shinoa was not very familiar with them. No one, not even the maids in the mansion, tended to pay her much attention. Even they seemed to understand that Shinoa was not meant to be loved.

They were only present because Mahiru was here.

She heard her older sister say something behind her, and turned to return to the table. The heiress held her hand out, and for some reason Shinoa found herself lifting her own as well, and realized she had a rose clutched in her fingers, which she dropped into her sister's waiting grasp.

Mahiru smiled once she had the rose, then said something else, but Shinoa couldn't tell what it was. She could never hear any words, in these kinds of dreams. Almost like moments like this had never really existed. She curled the hems of her dress in both fists, and for a moment the sky grew dimmer.

Mahiru was still talking, moving her lips soundlessly as she lovingly stroked the rose, admiring it in the light. Deep down, Shinoa didn't really understand why her sister was even here. They both knew the patriarchy would not approve of Mahiru associating with an outcast like her, fatherless demon spawn, whose existence bore no benefit to the family.

She was sure it was done out of pity. It was in Mahiru's nature; to love the unloved, to extend the same caring hand to everyone. Mahiru always wanted to love everybody. Most would have smiled at the thought, but to Shinoa it meant that Mahiru's love was meaningless, because it wasn't exclusive to a single person.

Still, she wanted to appreciate this moment. A cool breeze was slipping through the rooftop garden, and though Mahiru's voice was dead in this world, Shinoa could close her eyes and imagine it. Her heart wanted to believe in those soundless words even if her mind did not.

She wanted to tell her sister she loved her.

Shinoa opened her mouth intending to do just that, only to find that she couldn't. Her jaws snapped back together, so forcefully that it hurt. Putting a hand to her lips, she was horrified to find that she had none. Instead her fingers pressed against, stringy, pliant flesh, like her mouth had been sewn together by the cruel hand of fate.

She looked over at Mahiru in desperation, but her sister had stopped talking as well, her eyes boring into her. As she watched, the heiress's eyes lost their distinctive amber color, deepening until all that was left was a horrible shade of blood red.

The wind picked up, frigid and harsh, and at the far end of the garden the attendants collapsed like wooden dummies.

The sky darkened and turned a warped purple. As Shinoa clawed desperately at her fleshy mouth, almost sobbing by now, Mahiru left her seat and held up the rose between them, which turned black before fading into ashes. The entire rooftop garden began withering around them, then fangs finally appeared where Mahiru's incisors should have been. The vampire-demon turned away from her and began walking back to the building, opening the door and disappearing inside.

 _No._ Shinoa fell out of her chair and began running after her sister, struggling to scream past the strings woven into her mouth. The attendants' bodies had disintegrated into bones when she ran past them. Blood was raining from the sky. The garden was now no more.

By the time she reached the building, her shoes were soaked in the blood falling from the sky and her mouth was bleeding from her trying to force it open. Reaching out, she grabbed the door knob and flung it open, hoping to find her sister there, normal and happy.

Instead the dark, burning form of Shikama-Doji confronted her tear stained eyes, and before she could react it leapt forward and consumed her whole.

 _Shinoa!_

She woke up gasping, body drenched in sweat, breathless and panicking the moment her eyes flew open to be greeted by darkness. Her hands moved without thinking, and before she could stop herself she had grabbed her scythe and activated it, the reaper's blade extending out into the night.

The moment it reached full size, the room was lit by a flash of lightning, and Shinoa realized it was raining.

Her dilated eyes turned towards the window. The rain in this world was not blood, but water. Her heart was thundering in her chest, and it throbbed in her ears louder than the thunder rumbling outside, almost like her body was trying to block out the outside world, in order to keep her locked within her dark fantasies until she succumbed to insanity.

 _Not me. Your heart, Shinoa. Hide not._

The words, spoken in the distinctive voice of Shikama Doji, were whispered into the deepest corners of her mind, before the demon's presence disappeared from her consciousness completely.

Shinoa was given on respite, however, before the fading voice was replaced by another, deeper tone.

"Shinoa? Are you okay?"

Yuu was pulling himself groggily out of his own bed, his sword grasped instinctively in one hand. They all slept with their weapons within arm's reach; one could never be too careful, especially in their situation.

The two of them had come back up to the seventh floor after leaving the dining hall, only to find the rest of their teammates sound asleep. They had found an empty room nearby and taken the beds for themselves, not caring that it would mean sharing the same room. They had gotten used to having to do that by now.

The swordsman was watching her curiously, waiting for her to say something, but for a while Shinoa was only aware of the sound of the rain hitting the window, and how it sounded the same as in her dream, whether it was blood or not.

"I'm fine," she muttered at last, pulling the covers over her head. She turned away from Yuu and tried to go back to sleep, stuffing her now minimized scythe under the pillow.

"Are you sure?" Yuu asked, making to leave his bed. "You were thrashing-"

"I said I'm fine!"

The boy stopped where he was, then sighed and turned back to the mattress. "Alright, if you say so," he muttered, before going back to sleep.

But Shinoa could not reclaim sleep so easily, and she stared hard into the darkness for a long time, distracted by the sounds of the storm outside. It was keeping her from being able to sleep.

Eventually Yuu started to snore, and she was able to comfort herself by listening to the steady rise and fall of his breathing, and after a fitful hour she slept dreamlessly.

* * *

When Yuu woke up the next morning, he found Shinoa sitting quietly by the window of their hotel room, staring out with a forlorn expression on her face.

He sat up in bed and watched her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was still very early in the morning, barely past dawn, but it looked like the sergeant had been up for a while already. Then he remembered how much she had been thrashing last night. Maybe Shinoa just didn't like thunder.

She looked so small, sitting there in the little plastic chair with her knees drawn up to her chest, still in the thin shirt and shorts she usually wore to bed. It must have been frigid by the open window, but she didn't seem to care, or perhaps she was too distracted to notice.

Finally his jaws parted to admit a yawn, and Shinoa's eyes flitted over in his direction.

"Oh, Yuu," she said softly. "You're up."

"Mmm," the swordsman hummed, still too groggy for words. He rubbed at his face before leaning forward on his knees, not really knowing what else to say, especially after what had happened last night.

Finally Shinoa chose to break the silence herself. "I'm sorry I snapped at you last night."

Yuu smiled wanly. "It's okay."

"I was just…" Shinoa put her bare feet back to the carpet and leaned one elbow on the window sill, looking out with an agitated expression. "I had a bad dream, was all. It won't happen again, I promise."

Yuu had seen that expression on someone else's face before. The look of someone who was lost and had nowhere to go. The last time he had seen it was in the mirror, a shard of glass he had happened to pass not long after escaping Sanguinem for the first time. He had managed to scare himself with his own expression, back then; eyes hollow and deep, worry lines in the forehead and cheeks, lips turned into a permanent frown.

It was the kind of face a person with regrets wore.

"About what?" he asked softly, setting his head on his arms. A gentle breeze swept in through the window; the storm had abated overnight, and now the air smelled like passing rain.

Shinoa just smiled mirthlessly, as the wind pushed her lavender hair away from her face. She reached up to keep it in place, tucking an unruly strand behind her ear. "Does it matter? Dreams are dreams. They all haunt the same."

Yuu blinked once before responding. "Some more than others."

The sergeant looked over at where he was sitting on the bed, then shrugged. "I suppose."

Silence enveloped them, and Yuu observed Shinoa to pass the time. He realized that he had never taken the time to look at the girl, as in really look at her, take in her features and internalize them. Usually when they spoke she wore that sarcastic, haughty expression that seemed permanently engraved onto her face, but now that she was locked in her own thoughts she looked a little different. Calmer. Mature, even. There was a darkness in her eyes that couldn't be taught, and without the usual ribbon her hair was a loose mane around her shoulders, which made her appear older.

She was…actually sort of beautiful, he thought, though he obviously did not dare to say this out loud. For a moment it seemed like he was peeking into the real Shinoa, the girl who hid behind the sarcastic facade, the ambiguous role of 'sergeant.'

It awoke the natural protective instinct within him more acutely than it should have.

"I told you that I had a sister, right?" Shinoa asked suddenly, not looking at him.

Yuu bunched up the sheets in his hands. "You told me she passed away."

"She was in my dream last night," the girl admitted, turning away from the window. Her eyes were dark pools when Yuu looked into them, and he couldn't see to the bottom. "I dreamed that we were spending some time together. She had taken time out of her busy schedule to come see me."

There was a candidness to the sergeant's voice that he wasn't accustomed to. He realized that this was a different version of Shinoa. The girl was choosing to be honest with him.

"That doesn't seem so bad," he pointed out. "Was that your nightmare?"

Shinoa smirked. "I forget you know little about the history of the Hiiragi family. My sister, Mahiru, was in line to succeed my father one day. I, on the other hand, was a mere cast away. Even if we were sisters, it was frowned upon for her to associate with someone of my standing."

"But she came to see you anyway."

"She did," Shinoa admitted, crossing her legs. Yuu's eyes followed the movement for the briefest of moments, and when she noticed she bit her lip self consciously. "But then again, my sister was always a bit of an enigma. She was fair to everyone, and didn't follow the rules set by the family. Her eccentricity was only overlooked because she was a prodigy. But you're right, that wasn't the bad part. That came later."

Yuu narrowed his eyes. "Did she…"

"Well, not the same way as in real life," she specified. "But yes. The world started to collapse, and in the end I lost her. Shi-chan keeps digging up my memories and warping them, even though I asked her not to."

By that she meant Shikama Doji, the demon she was contracted with. Demons tended to have higher intelligence that more powerful they became, and as Shikama was not of the Black Demon series, her intellect was not as strong as, say, Asuramaru's. But they were still able to communicate on a basic level, just barely enough to get the message across.

 _Your heart, Shinoa. Hide not._

What was the demon trying to tell her? They had been contracted for years now, so she doubted Shikama was attempting to take over her body again. Even Guren had admitted that Shinoa had an exceptionally good relationship with her demon. No, those dreams had resurfaced for a reason. Shikama could see something that Shinoa herself could not.

"What was your sister like?" Yuu asked, leaning back against the bedpost.

Shinoa blinked, surprised by the question. "Why do you ask?"

"I just hear about her a lot," Yuu shrugged. "She's famous for completing the Cursed Gear, after all. Plus she's your sister. But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine," she murmured, thinking about what she should say. "I suppose, at her core…she was actually a lot like you."

Yuu grinned wolfishly. "Must've been good looking, then."

Shinoa snorted. "Well, she _was_ , but that wasn't what I meant."

"Are you saying I'm not good looking?"

"I didn't say that either," she said vaguely, not really answering the question. "But you were both ambitious. You both wanted a lot out of life. And you both had a lot of people you wanted to protect."

Yuu went still at that last part, and his smile turned more solemn. "You must have been one of those people."

Shinoa shrugged indifferently. "I wouldn't know. We never spoke very much, despite being sisters. She was always off doing something for the clan, or flirting with Guren."

Yuu looked up in surprise. "She knew Guren?"

"They were lovers," Shinoa corrected, then chuckled at the look of shock that crossed the boy's face. "Well, I suppose it isn't that easy to guess. Guren never told you?"

"That bastard never tells me anything," he grumbled, crumpling the bedsheets again. But then he paused as something occurred to him. "But then that means, when Mahiru died…"

"It was a long time ago," Shinoa said simply. "But…yes. I wasn't the only one who lost Mahiru. Guren lost her too."

She didn't add that her sister had turned into a demon after completing the Cursed Gear, or that Guren had been the one to kill her. She didn't say that her sister's demon self not resided on the man's sword, or that it was probably her fault that Guren was being possessed. It wouldn't change anything even if she did say something. Yuu would go after him regardless.

"You must miss her," Yuu said, eyeing her carefully.

Shinoa's face was like stone. It gave away nothing. A skill acquired after years of living under a family who cared nothing for her. "She was always good to me. And back then, it was hard for me to find people like that. So yes. I do miss her."

Yuu looked down at his hands. "I remember when I thought Mika was dead. He was always good to me too. The vampires were alive, but he was gone. It felt unfair. It didn't feel right."

Shinoa smiled slightly. "Good thing he turned out to be alive, then."

"Yeah, but he went and got himself turned into a vampire," Yuu snarked, which made her laugh. She cared for all her teammates, but Yuu was the only one she actually enjoyed talking to. He was different in that way.

Still, that was probably why they both thought so differently. Everyone had lost someone in this war, but Yuu at least hadn't lost the person who had been good to him from the start, Mika. He hadn't lost his Mahiru yet. Shinoa, on the other hand, had lost her Mahiru a long time ago.

Maybe that was why it was so much harder for her to risk everything for a loved one.

"You look tired." Yuu's voice tugged at the corners of her mind and brought her back to reality, in that infectious way only he could pull off. "Why don't you sleep a bit longer?"

Shinoa rubbed her eyes, but shook her head. She hadn't slept well in the storm, but she didn't want to sleep again. Sleep could mean more nightmares. "I'm fine. I'm already up anyways."

"Come on, just for an hour or two," Yuu insisted, slipping out of bed and walking over to her. "We're not heading out until later, anyway. You should get some rest."

The sergeant rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not made out of glass, you know. I said I'm fine."

The swordsman sighed in exasperation at her refusal, then reached down and promptly picked her up in his arms.

"Woah! Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Shinoa shrieked, kicking and flailing in the boy's grasp.

"You made me bandage my hand yesterday. This is payback," he grinned, tightening his grip on the girl when she continued to struggle. Her form was small, and it was easy for him to restrict her movements. Eventually Shinoa gave up on trying to escape, and settled for glowering at him from below.

"You're a bully," she said bluntly, looking away from him. Her cheeks were tinged.

"I'm a bully who cares," Yuu corrected, before setting her down on his bed, grabbing the covers and tossing them over her. "I'll come wake you in an hour or two. We'll leave after that."

Then he was gone, slipping through the door and clicking it gently shut behind him.

Shinoa sighed in defeat, turning over in the bed until she was comfortable. She really did not know how to handle that boy. Usually people were cowed enough by her abrasive personality, but this did not seem to work on the swordsman. Interacting with him was fundamentally different than other people.

She grabbed the pillow and pressed her face into it. It smelled like him. Not a bad scent, but there was definitely something boyish about it. The mattress was still warm from Yuu's body heat, and she pulled the blanket around her petite form, trying to recapture the sleep Shikama had stolen from her.

* * *

Shigure Yukimi was not happy.

The raven haired soldier paced nervously in circles in the room she shared with the other females in her squad, boots tapping loudly against the stone flooring. She was currently within the captured vampire city of Sanguinem, inside the living quarters that had been assigned to the soldiers for the time being. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, the windowsill, everything was made out of stone; Yukimi absolutely hated it. She felt like she was suffocating inside these impenetrable walls, inside her lack of awareness on what was going on with her own squad leader.

"Yukimi, would you please sit down?" Mito Jujo said from her spot on one of the beds, rather irritably. The fiery redheaded woman was laying down with a book in her hands, but she was being constantly distracted by Yukimi's insistent pacing.

"No, I can't _sit down_ ," the assassin said gratingly, crossing her arms. "I can't take this anymore. We need to do something before the situation gets out of hand."

"Shigure, I think you just need to calm down." Sayuri Hanayori was sitting on the bunk bed above Mito, her legs dangling over the edge. The brunette was dressed in casual clothing, as was the redhead below her, but Yukimi was the only one still in her JIDA uniform. "Nothing's going to come out of you pacing around like that."

The raven haired girl made an agitated noise, turning away from her teammates and stalking over to the window. Putting her gloves hands on the stone sill, she looked out over Sanguinem.

The city, named after the Latin word for 'blood', had been appropriately dubbed. She could still remember the bloodbath it had taken to claim this city from the vampires, the third largest in the world, apparently, according to the great library they had raided on one of the lower levels. There had been human casualties as well, of course, but the deaths had been disproportionately on the enemy side. It was all thanks to the overwhelming power of the Seraph of the End, which had proved its worth in being the turning point in the war.

But even if the Seraph was their reason for victory, Yukimi didn't like it. She didn't like it because of what it had done to Guren.

"He hasn't been the same ever since general Kureto first used the Seraph," she muttered. "We barely get to see him, and when we do he's busy talking to Kureto. He doesn't even come in to check up on us. He's acting _strangely_ , don't you see? Something's wrong with him."

She turned around to face her teammates, but their responses were not forthcoming.

"Guren has his responsibilities," Sayuri said carefully, looking at her knees. "We can't expect him to dote on us now, with the war in full swing."

"But you _know_ that this isn't like him," the assassin stressed, approaching the bunk beds her friends were sitting on. "He tried to kill Hyakuya-san at the airport. He was reckless on the battlefield. The real Guren would never do that. Something is making him act against his will. I believe…I believe that he may be possessed."

There was a tense silence as her friends turned to stare at her.

"Do you really think…" Mito began, closing her book.

"No," Sayuri cut her off, almost angrily. "Guren is _not_ being possessed by Mahiru. He has her under control. He's had her under control for years. Why would he succumb now?"

"Then how do you explain his behavior?" Yukimi challenged, walking closer to the brunette. "He's obsessed with winning the war now, Sayuri. He's being absorbed by his own power. Those are the classic signs of possession. And you know the nature of Hiiragi Mahiru's demon. About her lust for power."

Sayuri pursed her lips, obviously displeased by the turn this conversation was taking. "Even if what you think is true - which it certainly isn't - what do you suggest we do? We can't separate Mahiru from Guren now. They're even more inseparable than they were back in high school. I know; I was friends with them."

"Are you saying we should just abandon him?" the assassin asked, aghast. "We went up against a thirteenth progenitor by ourselves to save him, and now you just want to-"

"That's not what I'm saying!" Sayuri snapped, in a rare outburst of anger. Yukimi blinked and took a step back.

The brunette saw this and forced herself to take a deep breath, reaching up to pinch her nose. She was the lost person who wanted something bad to happen to Guren. Her heart hurt just to think about it. She loved him, after all. Even if he didn't return her feelings, she would always love him. And she knew Shigure loved him, too. But sometimes love led to irrational decisions.

"Look," she sighed at last. "All I'm saying is…in Guren's best interest, we should try not to interfere. We swore to be his bodyguards, but this isn't something we can protect him from. This time it's up to him."

"She's right, Yuki," Mito agreed, tossing her book aside and sitting up. "We can't fight something that's inside his mind. Guren's strong. You know that. He isn't going to lose to Mahiru."

The assassin just sneered, stepping back from her friends.

"You're blind, both of you," she said, turning towards the door. "I'm going to find Guren and ask him myself."

"Yukimi, wait!" Sayuri leapt off the bed, but the raven haired girl was already gone, disappearing down the hall.

"She's usually so much calmer than that," Mito sighed from her bed.

There was a little lamp on the wall of the bed chamber, a single bright flame burning at its center. It served as the only source of illumination, but as Sayuri watched it seemed to waver, dangerous on the verge of going out.

"I know," she murmured, turning away from the door. "But she loves him. And that throws everything else right out the window."

Yukimi swept through the halls of Sanguinem, her cloak fluttering angrily behind her.

 _I'll show them,_ she thought, as she wound her way through the stone hallways of the palace, hallways she had memorized as soon as possible in order to avoid getting lost. Her friends had to understand that there was a genuine issue with Guren. How else could they begin to act, if they refused to acknowledge the problem in the first place?

A miracle; upon turning the next corner she spotted Guren walking across the open courtyard outside, keeping pace with Hiiragi Kureto.

"Master Guren!" she called out, jogging across the courtyard to catch up to him. The two men stopped and turned towards the source of the voice, and Yukimi's heart leapt at seeing her leader's face for the first time in weeks.

"Who is this, Guren?" Kureto asked bluntly, once Yukimi was within earshot.

"Shigure Yukimi," Guren intoned, his voice emotionless. "My subordinate."

"Hm. I see." the general eyed her for a moment, until the assassin gave him a curt bow. He might be her superior, but that didn't mean she had to like him. "It seems like she had something to tell you, Guren. I'll give you two a moment of privacy."

He turned and melted into the shadows, not so much as acknowledging her presence.

Not that she really cared. She was here for Guren, not him. She looked up at her squad leader to find him staring intently at her.

"Did you have something to tell me?" he asked.

Yukimi bit her lip, not sure how to ask. Even now there was something different about his stature; the way he carried himself, the self assured smile on his face, the cruel look in his eye. His irises did not bear the telltale red of a possession victim, but she knew that was no guarantee of safety.

"Master Guren," she said at last, "I will ask you this bluntly, if you don't mind."

Guren stared at her impassively, one hand on his hip.

Yukimi took a deep breath before asking softly, "Is the one in control right now you…or Hiiragi Mahiru?"

He gazed at her for a long time, so long that she began to fidget beneath his eyes, despite her usual composure.

Finally he smiled, but it looked more like a smirk. "I'm a _namanari,_ Shigure. You know we always walk the fine line of control. It fluctuates."

"So am I talking to Guren or Mahiru right now?" Yukimi asked, looking up at him.

Guren closed the distance between them, and then they were barely five inches apart, making her heart rate increase at their proximity.

"Does it matter?" he asked, voice going velvety smooth. "He and I are one and the same, after all. My desires are his. And his desires…are mine."

His voice dropped an octave lower at the end, and Yukimi felt her cheeks flare up at the realization. Even if this was Mahiru talking, it still looked like Guren, and sounded like Guren, and _felt_ like Guren, the man she had secretly adored for so long from the shadows…

"But why?" she whispered, her voice coming out more hushed than she intended. "Why must you walk that line? Why can't Guren be in control?"

A gloved hand descended slowly towards her face, and then Guren was holding her chin and tilting her head back, making the woman's breath catch painfully in her throat.

"Because," he murmured, "To protect the people he loves, he requires power. That is something he and I both understand. Power is a means to any end. Whether it be revenge…or conquest."

Close. _He was too close_. Through the panicked veil of her blushing face, for a split second in time, she thought she saw Guren's irises burning a deep, dark red, so deep and red and it looked like his heart was pouring out of his eyes.

He leaned forward, the space between them growing incrementally smaller.

Yukimi shut her eyes and braced herself.

"Guren!"

Mito was standing at the entrance to the courtyard, breathing hard like she had run to catch up to them. Guren looked away from Yukimi to regard the redhead instead, a languid smile on his face.

The two soldiers locked gazes for a tense, drawn out moment, which ended when Guren turned and melted into the shadows, much like Kureto had.

Yukimi fell to her knees on the hard cobblestone courtyard, arms reaching up to hug herself. As Mito ran over to help her up, she felt at the probing hurt in her chest, and she didn't think it was just from being in close proximity with Guren.

It was the pain of being right.

 _That wasn't Guren._

* * *

[ _I trust that you are developing a plan to counter the Imperial Demon Army,_ ] said second progenitor Urd Geales, his deep voice resonating over the video feed.

Of all the vampires Lest had ever met in his many centuries of life, Urd was one of the few he actually respected. Though the two of them were both well known for ruling over their respective territories with an iron grip, Lest would be forced to admit that he ruled through fear and outmaneuvering more than Urd did. He had been to the vampire's territory in Russia in the past, and had been surprised to find that the humans there seemed content with their status as livestock.

It was difficult to break the will of a people, but it was even more difficult to have them be accepting of it.

Lest just smiled amiably, hiding his thoughts behind a toothy grin. "Of course I am, Urd. You put too little faith in me. Was it not the council's idea to send me to Japan?"

He was sitting in a dark, unlit room, the main council communication chamber that was meant to be used by those nobles who qualified to be present. Anyone else was traditionally forbidden from attending such meetings.

Well, not that Lest had ever cared too much for tradition. Ferid was a mere seventh progenitor, but he was currently standing behind Lest's chair, though he kept his head lowered and said nothing. Which was probably for the best.

[ _I don't doubt your ability to govern, Lest,_ ] Urd said, his eyes boring through the video feed. Even when he was giving compliments the noble was intimidating, even to Lest. [ _But neither do I doubt the threat that the Demon Army poses. Their success with the Seraph of the End will encourage other cults throughout the world to double their research._ ]

"I am quite aware," Lest assured, sitting in the center of the ring of video screens. There weren't many nobles present this time; this was a secretive meeting. "It is a long term plan, admittedly, but I have confidence in its success."

[ _This is absurd._ ] Lest's eye twitched oh so subtly when a third voice joined the conversation. It was that of Gabel Parthe, a third progenitor. The councilman was leaning so far into his screen that his catlike hood was obscuring the feed. [ _We should be moving to eliminate the Seraph immediately, not sitting idly by and waiting for an opportunity. It already nearly ended the world once-_ ]

Lest clenched his teeth behind his lips, quietly envisioning himself tearing Gabel's head off his body and throwing it into the river of molten lava outside his palace. Despite being the same rank as him, Lest would never in his years learn to tolerate the other vampire's idiocy. They might be a match physically, but in a true confrontation Lest would have zero difficulty in killing him. No remorse, either.

Before he could say anything, however, Urd spoke on his behalf.

[ _Be silent, Gabel,_ ] he said darkly, glaring across the room from his own screen. [ _Let us trust Sir Karr's judgement. Note that he has more experience with quelling uprisings than we do._ ]

Lest smiled smugly as Gabel grumbled his admittances, tapping his cane satisfactorily against the floor. "Indeed, Gabel. I was the one sent here, after all. Not you."

It was petty on his part, and probably unnecessary, but he relished in seeing the third progenitor glower at him in silence. Behind him, he heard Ferid chuckle softly under his breath.

[ _This meeting is over,_ ] Urd sighed, putting a hand to his head. [ _Gabel, you are dismissed._ ]

Progenitor Parthe grumbled something about upstarts and logged out of the video feed, and then it was just Lest and Urd. He was about to leave the room himself when the Russian caught his attention once more.

[ _Before you leave, Lest,_ ] he said, speaking informally now that they were alone, [ _How is Lady Tepes fairing under your care?_ ]

This time Lest let his teeth show. "Not so well, I'm afraid. We're in the process of torturing her. Minimal blood, just enough to keep her from turning."

Urd exhaled audibly through his nostrils, shaking his head. [ _A shame, really. Krul was always such a good friend to me. Her treachery hurt me more than it should have._ ]

"Good friends don't break taboos," Lest pointed out. Ferid grinned.

The second progenitor cast a somewhat disapproving glance in Ferid's direction, then said, [ _I suppose not. Good luck, Lest. I have faith in your ability to control this situation._ ]

"Much appreciated, Urd."

The video feed cut out, and the council meeting was over.

As Lest rose out of his chair and retrieved his top hat, Ferid came around behind him and asked, "My king?"

"Yes?" he acknowledged, setting his hat on top of his head.

"You said you had decided on a plan," Ferid elaborated, his eyes like the slits of a cat's. "I was merely curious as to what it was."

Lest regarded his subordinate for a long while. Despite the drastic differences in their power levels, he would never allow himself to lower his guard around the seventh progenitor. Intelligence was often more than enough to gap bridges in strength. The fact that Ferid had been able to dethrone Krul was enough evidence to go on.

"Yes, I suppose you should be aware of the plan," he murmured, taking his cane and heading for the door. "Walk with me, Ferid. I will fill you in on the way."

"Where are we going, my lord?" Ferid asked curiously, tagging along behind him.

Lest's fangs poked through his lips.

"To see our 'dear friend,' of course."

* * *

They left the hotel building later than morning, after having breakfast and hunting around the general area for more supplies. Carrying enough food to last them was one thing, but there were other things people needed to survive.

As promised, Yuu came to wake Shinoa up about an hour and a half after she fell asleep. She was actually incredibly reluctant to leave the bed at that point, as she had slept rather soundly during that hour and a half, and Yuu practically had to drag her into the hall by her ankles.

He was laughing the whole time, though, so she supposed he didn't really mind.

Breakfast was a simple serving of ramen, which Kimizuki made using a portable hot plate he had picked up a while back, the kind that ran on batteries. Unfortunately, the general lack of usable batteries meant that he had to use the hot plate sparingly, and conversation was scant as the group sipped begrudgingly on lukewarm noodles.

"We're almost to Sanguinem," Mitsuba muttered, stabbing at her serving. "I can't believe we're actually doing this."

"Well, you aren't exactly obligated to go," Kimizuki said dryly.

"I know. But it's not like I can just leave you and Yuu to go in by yourselves."

"Hmm. Much obliged."

"You've got a noodle on your face," Shinoa sighed, reaching up and picking it off Yuu's cheek.

She stuck it in her mouth without thinking and swallowed, only to be met with deafening silence.

When she looked, the entire group was gaping at her, mouths wide. Mitsuba had stopped saying whatever it was she was about to say, and instead seemed about ready to explode.

"W-W-W-Wh-" the blonde stammered, tripping over the own tongue. "What the _hell_ was that Shinoa?"

The sergeant flushed badly, finally realizing what she had just done without thinking it through first. "Um…it's not what you think…" she said weakly, holding her hands up in defense.

"Yuu! Do you have nothing to say for yourself?" Mitsuba snapped, rounding on the swordsman.

He just reddened slightly and looked away, muttering something along the lines of "I didn't really mind…"

As Mitsuba proceeded to flip out, Mikaela glared jealously in Shinoa's direction, and the sergeant sighed in exasperation, thinking it was a good thing she had chosen to sleep in.

* * *

Some hours later, the group was standing at the edge of a rather large sinkhole, staring out at the other side.

"Do we _have_ to go through this?" Mitsuba sighed, eyeing the sinkhole with distaste. "I don't like getting my feet wet."

"We can go around, but it'll add time to our route," Yoichi sighed, turning a map over in his hands. "In the interest of time, crossing here is the best option."

Shinoa exhaled softly through her nose. They were currently standing at the edge of a massive, miles-long sinkhole, set right in the middle of the road that they had been following for the past few hours. It was so large that walking around it was going to take hours. As if that wasn't bad enough, the sinkhole had been flooded by burst pipes and rain over the years, and was now filled to the brim with water.

It was a literal lake, right in the middle of the city, as if God had dropped it there specifically to spite them.

"Okay, everybody. Put your boots on," she instructed, shrugging off her own backpack. Reaching inside, she pulled out the military boots that had been issued by the JIDA, kicking off her own shoes and pulling them on. She hadn't thought she would be using this uniform again so soon, but it was better than having wet socks.

The rest of the squad followed suit, all but Mikaela, who was already wearing boots. The blond vampire was staring with narrowed eyes at the skyscrapers soaring up around them, transfixed on a single point.

Shinoa tried to follow his gaze but saw nothing; the sky was a blank, toneless gray, and the rooftops around them appeared empty. "Is something wrong?" she asked him.

Mikaela scanned the area once more, then shook his head. "No. Nothing's wrong," he said.

By now everyone had their boots on, and they began filing slowly down into the sinkhole, hopping down the piles of broken street to get to the bottom. Before they entered the water, Shinoa grabbed a long, rusty pipe and poked it into the liquid, testing its depth.

"It's shallow," she called out behind her, then stepped lightly into the water. It came up to about her shins, which were protected by the boots. As long as there was no splashing they would be fine. "Single file, behind me. I'll test the depth as we go. Wouldn't want anybody falling into a pit."

"How pleasant," Mikaela muttered sarcastically, falling into line behind her.

"Well, you know me. Little miss sunshine," she sang, but received only a muted response. She pouted; Yuu was usually more receptive of her jokes.

They began wading across the artificial lake, little ripples of water waving out from where their legs swept through. Shinoa stared down at their feet as they walked; the surface of the sinkhole seemed to be just rocks and broken remnants of streetlamp, and there were no signs of life. The humps of empty cars rose above the water here and there, and further out than that, a ring of desolate skyscrapers surrounded them, like great sleeping beasts.

Shinoa eyed one of them nervously as they passed. It was leaning dangerously to the side, and although it had probably been like that for a while, she couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to collapse and crush them all in an instant.

 _Oh, such a positive mindset. You go, Shinoa._

 _"_ So tell me, Mikaela," she said out loud, so that only the vampire could hear, "Do you have any friends besides Yuu?"

It was a sort of loaded question, but she was asking out of curiosity as to whether Mikaela considered them his friends or not. Probably not, but a girl could dream, right?

"Not really?" he grunted, and ended it there.

 _Figures._

It was still miles until they reached the other end of the sinkhole. Shinoa couldn't see where it ended, but what little of the sun that could break through the clouds was reflected on the water ahead of them, and if she pretended hard enough it looked like they were walking through the ocean, towards the horizon. The buildings around them were reflected almost perfectly in the still, undisturbed water, and she imagined they were like pilgrims walking through a lush valley, except the horizon was concrete and the mountains were skyscrapers.

It was oddly beautiful, in its own way. There was a certain elegance to chaos.

"Well, I suppose there might be one," Mikaela said suddenly, so softly she almost missed it.

"Hmm?" she prompted, happy to get the boy talking. The others were a little further behind, and thus out of earshot.

The young vampire paused, as if unsure whether to continue. "You'd laugh. But…she's a vampire. Third progenitor Krul Tepes."

Shinoa blinked, pausing herself to probe the ground in front of them. "As in… _the_ Krul Tepes? Vampire queen of Japan?"

"Former," he corrected. "She was…dethroned, by two other vampires who were her rivals. I imagine Ferid Bathory is the ruler now, or perhaps another progenitor from elsewhere was sent over. Either way, Krul's reign is over."

"Ah…" Shinoa said gingerly, not quite sure how to respond to the news. Mikaela certainly didn't hold back with his words. "If you don't mind me asking, is she…"

"Dead?" he asked bluntly. "I don't know. I would like to think she's alive; vampires prefer not to eliminate their own kind. If she is alive, though, she's probably being held prisoner somewhere. She was charged with treason for having ties to the humans."

Shinoa was reminded that Mikaela had lived a life too, all those years he had been apart from Yuu. There were things about the boy she or maybe even Yuu didn't know yet.

"Is she important to you?" she asked, sweeping the water with her pipe.

Surprisingly enough, Mikaela smiled genuinely at the question. "At first I didn't really know. She saved my life by forcing me to drink her blood, but even after that I tried for years to prevent myself from turning into a true vampire. She could have forced me to drink human blood, but she entertained me instead. She gave me all the blood I wanted. I think she was more amused by my stubbornness than anything else."

"But why did she save your life?"

"At first I thought it was because I carried the Seraph gene." Mikaela shrugged. "Krul made a deal with the humans regarding the Seraph before the virus came, which is why she is now charged with treason. I spent some years believing I was just an insurance tool to her, until I found out the truth."

"The truth," Shinoa echoed, her boots sloshing through the water.

Mikaela's smile turned more wry. "Vampire blood, Hiiragi-san. It changes a person's basic chemistry. The moment I turned, I no longer carried the Seraph gene. It was invalidated by Krul's blood. Now, I know what you're thinking. She had no reason to save me, then. I don't really believe she did it out of compassion either; but of all the vampires I've met, she's the only one who has ever tried to look out for me."

The walked in silence for a while, and Shinoa tried to imagine herself in Mikaela's shoes, alone in a world full of vampires, almost being one herself, but trying her damnedest not to turn fully. In a world like that, in a life like that, she would have felt incredibly alone. Surrounded by monsters, in danger of becoming one herself. Under such circumstances, someone like Krul Tepes might have been very special to her, as well.

The shining light in the tunnel of darkness.

Was Krul Tepes Mikaela's Mahiru?

"If you knew she was alive," she asked hesitantly, "And you could find her…would you want to go save her?"

"In a perfect world," the vampire replied. "But this world is far from perfect."

So even Mikaela had someone he had lost, someone waiting for him to come for them, sitting just out of their reach. He would probably sacrifice everything if it meant saving Krul, too. It felt like everywhere she looked she found people who were willing to resort to self destruction to get what they wanted. Even Yoichi. She and Mitsuba were the only ones who shirked away from that idea, the idea of being reckless with life, all for one single idealized goal.

It was probably because the people they had wanted to protect were dead already. It was over for them. Mitsuba's old team was dead. Shinoa's sister was dead. The greatest finality lay in death. There were no arguments to be had with the grim reaper. Shinoa knew this intimately. She had taken enough vampire's lives with her scythe, like she was a pupil of the reaper himself.

She noticed then that Mikaela had slowed down, allowing the rest of the team to catch up with them. She looked back at him curiously, but the blond simply waved at her to keep going.

Once they started walking again, she heard Mikaela murmur,

"Yoichi, in five seconds, the skyscraper to our right. Twentieth floor. Two targets, both female."

It came out of nowhere, but the information rippled through all of them, and they knew what was about to happen. Shinoa took her scythe out of her pocket, and she heard the gentle rasp of Yuu's sword as he loosened his scabbard.

Five footsteps later Yoichi turned on one heel, his bow materializing in his hand. A plume of water rose upward as he planted one foot as quickly as he could manage, drawing back on the string. A targeting symbol appeared before his eye for a split second, before he fired three arrows at the spot Mikaela had specified earlier.

The bolts flew outward almost instantaneously, diving in through the windows of the twentieth floor before exploding into a ball of flame. Huge jets of fire flared out through the windows, and there was a deep rumble as the entire building shook on its foundations, chunks of rubble flying into the air and peppering the water below.

Unfortunately, Yoichi was not fast enough. Two dark figures leapt out of harm's way an instant before the arrows struck, so quickly that they looked like blurs to the human eye, but Mikaela was far from human.

"North building!" he barked, and Yoichi fired without aiming this time, trusting the vampire's judgment. The smaller building to the first skyscraper's north was soon engulfed in flames, the entire rooftop swallowed inside a thick plume of smoke.

The two figures were forced to adjust their course, as their original landing spot was now reduced to a fiery graveyard. There were no more buildings nearby, so they were forced to drop down onto the water instead, about forty yards in front of them.

Only then could Shinoa get a good look at them.

It occurred to her that they had actually met before.

"Really, Horn. You went and got us caught," Chess Belle complained, sighing in an exaggerated manner. She hitched up the bottom of her dress and made a face. "And you've got my dress all wet too! This was a gift from master Crowley, you know!"

"I don't really think this is the time to be arguing about this," said the blonde noble standing beside her. Horn Skuld eyed the children standing not to far from them.

That seemed to break some sort of spell, and Shinoa spun her scythe until it enlarged to full size.

"Progenitors!" she shouted, backing up several steps. Behind her, she heard the sounds of everyone else drawing their weapons, even Mikaela, who usually helped out in a fight as a last resort. "Defensive formations!"

The entire squad fell in behind her in a flurry of movement, and then they had turned into a bristling wall of blades, water rippling wildly around their legs.

Horn sighed when she saw this, taking out her whip. "Oh, now look what you've done. They've all drawn their weapons."

"Looks like they want to play," Chess said eagerly, drawing her sword. "Shall we indulge them?"

Shinoa bared her teeth, holding her scythe closer to her chest as curse marks began creeping up the sides of her face. Crowley Eusford might not be here to pose a threat this time, but that didn't mean they could underestimate his attendants. These two were still vampire nobles, as unassuming as they may appear.

Behind her, she noticed suddenly that Mika seemed to be breathing with more difficulty than was logical, like he was suffocating on something. She didn't dare turn to check on him, unwilling to take her eyes off of their enemies for a second, but she wondered what was wrong with him.

Horn shook her head, reaching up to toss her golden hair behind her shoulder. "Not this time, Chess. We have orders not to engage them. Unless you think you can subdue them without killing anybody?"

"Ehhhh…" Chess pouted, sounding truly disappointed. "Well, killing them is always so much easier to do…"

"My point exactly," Horn sighed, turning away from the humans. "Come now, Chess. We should leave before they decide to attack us first."

"I guess," Chess said forlornly, sheathing her weapon. She turned and stuck her tongue out at them, waggling it between her two fangs. "See you around, little children! We'll play next time, I promise."

Shinoa felt her heart flutter in relief when the two progenitors turned away from them and started dashing across the shallow surface of the water, moving so quickly they parted the water like jet skis. Soon they had receded into the distance, and in a few more moments they would be out of sight.

Before she could breathe out a sigh of relief, however, another figure began dashing after them.

Mikaela swore once quietly under his breath, as if cursing the fact that he was about to do this, then sheathed his sword and began sprinting after the two vampires.

"What…wait! Mika!" Yuu shouted, reaching out to grab the blond, but he was much too slow; the vampire was already far out of reach, blasting across the flooded sinkhole towards the smaller specks in the distance, his movements a blur to their inferior eyesight.

"God damn it!" Mitsuba swore, slamming her axe into the water. "Does stupidity run in your family or something?"

Shinoa stepped forward instinctively, her foot splashing softly in the water, but she froze immediately afterwards, her hand rigid in the air before her. Was it the right decision to chase after Mikaela? Powerful as he was, the blond was not powerful enough to take on two nobles on his own. But dragging everyone else into this fight could result in even more casualties. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if one of them got killed because of a decision she had made-

More splashing behind her, and Yuu was running after his brother, sword drawn and ready to kill.

She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she allowed Yuu to get hurt, either.

Shrinking her scythe and stuffing it into a pocket, she began sprinting after him.

She didn't issue any verbal commands, but soon enough she heard the rest of the squad following close behind her. They caught up with Yuu quickly, but by now Mikaela was far ahead of them, nearly hundreds of yards to the north, beneath the colossal shadow of a half collapsed skyscraper sticking out of the water.

"This one doesn't know when to give up," Horn snarled, glancing behind her to find that Mikaela was gaining on them.

"Say," Chess said out loud, as if something had just occurred to her. "Didn't Lord Crowley's orders say to avoid killing just the humans?"

The two progenitors shared a glance, and a silent understanding passed between them.

Mika balked when the two vampires dashing ahead of him suddenly stopped on a dime, both of them drawing their blades and swinging for his head. He was moving so quickly at this point that it was nearly impossible for him to stop, and before he knew it he was barreling straight towards the cold steel of Chess's sword, inches away from having his head taken off.

Pitching forward, he dove at the last moment, managing to use his momentum to knock Horn off her feet. They both fell hard into the water, soaking their clothes instantly, but this was hardly the time to care about that.

Not even stopping to toss the water out of his eyes, Mikaela drew his sword and slashed blindly at where Horn had landed, its tentacles lashing out to drink greedily at his blood.

Before the blade met the vampire's flesh, however, Chess Belle dove between them and brought her own weapon up in defense.

Their swords crossed with enough force to crush mountains, and Mika had to narrow his eyes when the recoil caused the water to explode outward around them. Through his watery vision, he saw Chess grinning smugly at him, her eyes filled with the wild light of bloodlust.

Before he could regain his footing, Chess spun forward and began to attack him from all sides, forcing him to step back and parry the blows coming his way. The strikes seemed to come at lightning speed; the moment he blocked one attack another blade was arcing towards his legs, then his chest, and even his vampiric reflexes were barely enough to keep himself from losing a limb.

Finding that Mika was sufficiently distracted, Horn picked herself up from the water, tossing her soaked hair out of her eyes. The usually composed woman seemed genuinely irritated now, and his heart sank once he realized that it was now two against one. He had squandered the only advantage he had had going into this fight.

"No more false brethren," Horn seethed, drawing her sword. "We'll teach you the power of a noble."

"How about you teach me instead," Yuu snarled, before swinging for Horn's head.

The progenitor whirled around and parried the blow before it could connect, and for a tiny fraction of time she saw the well known face of Hyakuya Yuu, the curse marks crawling across his skin, teeth bared, hair billowing behind him like a dark flame.

The face of the boy who could end the world.

Then the moment was past, and the two of them became embroiled in a flurry of traded blows, their swords smashing together with such force that sparks sprayed across their feet, only to be snuffed out by the water.

 _Gods. His swordplay is formidable,_ Horn thought angrily, struggling to fend off the boy's reckless attacks. Her own prowess at combat was admittedly paltry compared to most nobles, so she would have to rely on her natural advantages to win this fight. Pursing her lips, she began to steadily increase the speed of her attacks, seeking to conquer Yuu's instincts through sheer force alone.

At first it seemed to work. The boy's breaths came in short, harsh gasps, and the purple curse marks grew until they reached all the way across his face. Finally his movements began to lose their ferocious edge, until at last Horn spotted an opening in his previously impervious defense.

Baring her teeth, she lunged forward to exploit it.

Rather than attempting to parry the blow, however, Yuu simply dodged it, throwing his body to the side. Horn's sword missed entirely, her momentum carrying her past the boy's chest until it dove beneath the surface of the water and struck the concrete.

"Shinoa!"

A petite girl wielding a massive scythe bounded over Yuu's crouched body, twirling her weapon in a deadly whirlwind around her person. She was upon Horn in an instant, swinging with the intent to kill, and the progenitor could barely yank her sword out of the ground in time to defend herself.

Horn did not hold back this time, but the girl's movement speed seemed to be on par with her own somehow, and it occurred to her that she must have taken one of those damn pills the humans had invented to even the playing field. The scythe wielder's face was throbbing brightly with curse marks, and her weapon wove a web around her small body, its unusual shape making her attacks nearly impossible to predict. Horn snarled as she found herself being pushed back, step by step, the distance between herself and Chess closing by the minute.

Chess, on the other hand, was still busy trying to fend off Mika, who had renewed his attacks on her with fury.

"My, aren't you motivated!" she exclaimed, holding one hand to her mouth in mock surprise. She was still fighting only one handed, and she had yet to feel like she should be taking this fight seriously. Mika might have been bred on the blood of Krul Tepes, but he was not a progenitor. Chess had the advantage.

Mika was well aware of this, as well as how stupid it was for him to chase after Chess and Horn. It was something Yuu would have done, but Yuu wasn't wrong about everything. Sometimes you couldn't abandon the people you cared about.

Their swords clashed again, locking together, the blades shaking dangerously with the force being applied to them. "You monsters," he seethed, pressing forward as hard as he could, but failed to break Chess's block. "I know you have Krul. Where is she? Where are you keeping her?"

The blue haired vampire raised her eyebrows, and this time she seemed genuinely caught off guard. "Lady Krul? You mean the traitor? Why would you care about her?"

She punctuated the question with a dizzying array of slashes, her sword dancing a disorienting circle around Mika. He failed to block all of them, and he paid the price when Chess's blade caught him on the right thigh, biting clean through the flesh and drawing blood.

Mika cried out and leapt backward, putting distance between them, but landed awkwardly on his injured leg. He felt the wound, felt the blood staining his fingers there, and glared hatefully at his opponent. Chess just smiled amiably back at him, lifting her sword as if to goad him on, the tip of her blade stained red with his lifeblood.

"Chess!" Horn shouted, her voice almost swallowed by the sound of clashing blades. "I'm being outnumbered here!"

She wasn't exaggerating, either. Yuu, Shinoa, Kimizuki, and Mitsuba were all simultaneously assaulting the vampire from four sides, darting in and out in a crazy dance, striking where she was the most unbalanced. Horn's superior reflexes were allowing her to cope, but she had already sustained wounds in several areas, and due to the curse of the demon weapons the cuts did not heal, instead dripping blood into the water that pooled outward like dark roses, as if the ground by her feet were sprouting into the garden from Shinoa's dreams.

"Help me!" Horn added, barely swatting aside a succession of blows from Kimizuki.

"Shut up, you damn vampire," the bespectacled boy growled, trying to sweep her legs out from under her, only for Horn to lash out with a foot and kick him back several steps.

Not intending to let Chess pull Horn out of a bind, Mika ignored the pain in his leg and charged, overflowing his sword with as much blood as he could manage. He lunged forward and stabbed for the vampire's heart, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Really, Horn. You're no fun," Chess sighed, flicking blood off her sword.

A moment before Mika's blade found her heart, she ducked beneath the attack and kicked him squarely in the chest, so hard that his entire body was stopped in midair, and he heard a sickening crunching sound come from below his collarbone. Then the wind was driven out of his lungs, and he was flying backwards, careening through the air before crashing painfully into the water with a great splash.

"Mika!" Yuu screamed, turning to look for his brother, but his attention was quickly diverted back to blocking Horn's attacks.

Several yards away, Mika lay gasping in the shallow water, struggling to catch a simple breath. He didn't want to look down at himself, didn't dare to; he knew that the kick from Chess had crushed his chest cavity. Even now he could feel his body going into emergency mode, flying to heal the wound before it claimed his life. He was bleeding profusely into the water, and he couldn't tell if his clothes were soaked with that or blood anymore.

He would probably survive this, but for now he could only lay there and fight for breath, or close his eyes and brave the waves of pain that flew outwards from his destroyed heart.

Turning away from Mika with a smirk, Chess began sprinting towards Horn, knowing that now the fight would turn in their favor.

"Oh, no you don't," Yoichi murmured, before firing.

He was crouching atop the hump of a half submerged car, where he had retreated after the fight began, knowing that his worth was greater at long distances. Until now the vampires had failed to even notice him, because it was easy to forget about his subtle presence, which was the perfect attribute for a sniper to have. It was one of the few times he was glad for his lack of presence.

He let go of the arrows a moment later, aiming precisely at the spot between Horn and Chess's eyes, intending to take them both out together.

Adrenaline surged through Chess's system once she noticed the two arrows screaming towards them, and she knew immediately that it was too late to dodge. She had to remove both herself and Horn from this situation alive, but it seemed she would be unable to do so without suffering a few scratches. Well, not that it really mattered. Horn was plenty scratched up already.

Leaning back, she slammed on the brakes of her dash, coming to an incredibly abrupt stop just behind Horn's body. The move sent a huge wave of water flying forward towards the humans, and they all lifted their hands to shield their faces before the water struck them, giving her the window of time she needed.

Not wasting a single millisecond, Chess grabbed Horn by the wrist and swung her sword in a wide arc in front of them.

The area around the two vampires exploded into a thick fireball of flames, and the rest of Yoichi's team staggered backwards from the point of impact, diving into the water to avoid suffering serious burns. He hadn't wanted to fire with his friends so close, but he had to in order to make sure the tide did not turn against them. He lowered his bow slightly, narrowing his eyes at the thick column of smoke he had created.

He saw Mitsuba whoop in victory, but he wasn't so sure just yet. Something was nagging at him. Some instinct that told him this wasn't over yet. Could it mean…

"No…" Mika murmured, having finally recovered from his injuries, picking himself up gingerly from the ground.

Two streaks of smoke jetted out from the fireball, and out of those streaks emerged the forms of Chess Belle and Horn Skuld, one holding tightly onto the other. The two vampires leapt towards the side of the skyscraper that had been looming over them during the duration of the battle, aiming for one of its broken windows.

Chess alighted upon the fifth floor with Horn still held tightly in her hands, and a moment later they dove into the darkness of the ruined building.

Yoichi gaped, unable to comprehend how they had survived the explosion. It had been a direct hit! He had seen it with his own eyes!

Only Mikaela, who had been watching from behind, knew that Chess had cut the arrows out of the air a half second before they hit their intended targets, thus minimizing the damage the resulting explosion inflicted upon them.

Shinoa fell to one knee in exhaustion, using the length of her scythe to keep herself upright. That was the hardest she had fought in months, the hardest since she had faced off against even stronger progenitors at the airport. She didn't look forward to doing it again.

Unfortunately, Mika wasn't inclined to indulge her, because the moment he could walk again he was leaping away from the water, giving chase.

"I hate your family, Yuu," Mitsuba grumbled, her deep blue eyes tracking Mika until he, too, disappeared inside the building.

"Yoichi, go climb another building and give us support from above," Shinoa snapped, sending the archer running to find a higher perch. "Yuu, you're with me. We're taking the west side of the building. Mitsuba and Kimizuki, you take the east. We'll catch the vampires in a pincer maneuver and finish them."

Her team nodded in agreement, and then they all started running towards the base of the building. They couldn't leap dozens of feet in the air like Mikaela could, meaning they would have to take the stairs.

They charged in through the nonexistent front doors of the skyscraper, this boots sloshing through the water. The first floor of the building was completely flooded as well, all the way to the door that led into the staircase.

As Shinoa smashed it to pieces with her scythe to let them through, only a single thought dominated her mind.

 _Don't die for Krul, Mika. She isn't worth it._

* * *

A/N

Whew. This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I hope you guys don't mind. This is closer to the "true" length of my chapters, which is to say they usually hover at around ~10,000 words, just not at first. It would be easy for me to just break them up, though.

I pretty much have four different plotlines running simultaneously right now. Hopefully I don't get them all tangled up...

Anyways, thanks for reading! Tell me what you think.

~Banshee


	4. Fear

"Can vampires feel emotion? Due to the relative lack of true research on the topic (as well as the virtual nonexistence of testimonials from actual vampires), there is insufficient evidence to properly support either answer to the question. Perhaps our distant cousins are truly as callous as they appear on their exterior, or perhaps they simply possess a fundamentally different interpretation of the concept of 'emotion.'

One may also consider the origins of emotion, particularly those of love, hatred, happiness and sadness, most or all of which have some root in survival instinct. It is well known that vampires dislike increasing their numbers, which seems to stand in contradiction to the general principle of most reproducing species, although they do not reproduce in the traditional sense. In this way it could be argued that they lack the capacity for emotion, as there was no evolutionary pressure to necessitate it; however, vampires are obviously also able to prioritize, and protect those resources or individuals they deem important to their survival. Therefore it is presumable that value has meaning to them, though it is impossible to determine whether this value is purely pragmatic or deals in some degree of personal bias.

Ultimately, until extensive psychological analysis can be performed upon the subject (an unlikely possibility in the near future, considering the current war), there is no conclusive method available to determine this. However, the one thing we do know is that while humans and vampires do share some distant relation, whether that connection be evolutionary or intentional, we are also fundamentally different from each other. Even if it may be proven that vampires feel as well and as deeply as we do, it is more than likely that they feel very differently than us."

-Shinoa Hiiragi, excerpt from an in-class essay assignment

"Fear…fear is an emotion crafted for humans. It is a sensation befitting of cattle and livestock. Not something very easily prescribed to vampires, but as I lay there, watching my soul blacken and turn into a demon…I will admit that I felt very human."

-Asura Tepes

* * *

Chapter 4: Fear

Krul wished she had some literature at hand.

When studying the cultural nuances of a population or race, researchers generally attempted to pore over the literature that was produced by said race, as it was a glimpse into the thoughts and minds of the culture. Krul knew this well; she had read her fair share of human literature in her time, mostly whenever she grew bored of common vampiric texts, though she did not claim to understand what she read. The values she found within those novels weren't the ones her race shared.

If anything, it helped to deepened the line between them.

Still, there was one thing Krul would always remember from her varied readings, and it was their races' varying interpretations of light and darkness. Human stories always seemed to revel in the existence of light; it meant the sun, it meant brightness, sight, awareness, warmth and summer. It made sense, as humans were woefully hapless in the dark.

Vampires, on the other hand, preferred the darkness. They had begun as night hunters, after all, thousands of years ago, before there were nobles or progenitors or even underground cities, when their kind used to live in the depths of dark forests and hunted anything that walked. The darkness was their cloak. It gave Krul comfort. Few things could do that for her, after living for so many centuries.

One eye rolled back in her head, and she shook it to refocus her sight. Her thoughts were wandering again. She was going to become senile, sitting here alone in this dungeon. She wasn't particularly old, but she wasn't very young anymore either. Lest held that distinction.

Thinking about the third progenitor made the hairs rise on the back of her neck, and she regained a little more composure.

Outside, just past, the wall of bulletproof glass that separated her from the rest of the world, someone had set up an intense set of lights, angled so that they poured into the cell and bathed every available corner. The bulb itself was massive, large enough to stand above Krul's own petite form, and it was unbearably strong; the light seemed to burn her skin, like they had saddled the sun and brought it all the way down here for the sole purpose of torturing her even further.

In order to escape the miniature sun, she had taken to pulling up the bedsheets and curling up in the corner with it wrapped around her small body, trying to shield her sensitive skin from the harmful rays. It helped some, and though the guards shouted at her to stop it at first she simply ignored them, and after some time they had given up.

It was a petty victory, but she would take what she could get.

Krul had the blanket wrapped around her head like a hood, and she turned her nose against the wall, staring at its blank surface sightlessly. She slept a lot more now, since her diet had been slashed so severely; almost all the time she slept, and when she was awake she felt languid, like a puddle of flesh. It was all part of breaking her, she knew, but sometimes it was hard to remember that.

The progenitor pressed her forehead against the wall, closing her eyes, hoping to dream this time about blond hair and blue eyes.

Never mind. The sound of the door opening, and then a young voice ordering the guards to step outside. Krul knew that voice. She knew it very well.

Turning her head and peeking through the edge of her hood, she spied Lest Karr walking in to stand on the other side of the glass.

"Hello, Krul," he said airily, leaning on his cane.

The area directly behind the giant light was swathed in darkness, and the vampire's eyes were the only thing she could see clearly, gleaming through the glass.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Krul let her head fall back against the wall, fully intending to go back to sleep.

Lest just clucked his tongue, walking over to a chair and sitting down in it. He crossed his legs and laid his cane across his lap, shaking his head in exasperation. "Really, Krul. Your successor comes to visit and you can't even manage a simple hello?"

Krul almost didn't reply to that either, but she opened her dry, sticky mouth a moment later. "You aren't my successor. You're my usurper."

The vampire chuckled softly, a soft sound that arose from the darkness. The darkness she missed so much. "Yes, I suppose. I don't expect you to be happy to see me. But for what it counts, I'm happy to see you. In this state, that is."

Krul clenched her fists beneath the blanket, resisting the urge to rise up and scream bloody murder at him. That was what he wanted. Lest would get nothing from her.

"Is that why you're here? To watch me suffer?"

Lest's teeth flashed through the glass. She imagined her own meeting his neck. "Partly, I admit. But not entirely, no. I came to ask for a second opinion."

A strand of dirty pink hair fell across Krul's face, as she waited for an elaboration.

"Five months ago, the day the humans succeeded on creating the Seraph of the End," Lest began, bemusement in his voice, "A certain group of humans seceded from the Demon Army. And also joining them, though I'd imagine with some reluctance, was a certain vampire who was under your care."

Krul felt her heart clench painfully in her chest, and for the first time in over eight hundred years she felt…was it fear? Fear for whom? Herself? A noble did not fear death. She would die with dignity. No…it was fear for Mika, fear for another, and it felt so foreign.

Lest hummed at her silence. "You know, I never met Mikaela, but I've heard about his eccentricity. It was even more severe than yours, I've been told. And from my experience, eccentricity is dangerous. It leads to change. And vampires live best without change."

The pink haired vampire snorted from behind her blanket. "Then why haven't you killed Ferid yet?"

A smile. "Ferid is dangerous, I admit. A seventh progenitor who can dethrone you is a force to be reckoned with. But Ferid has never had dealing with humans like you or Mikaela. And I know how to keep him in check."

 _Neither of those statements are true,_ Krul thought, closing her eyes again. They were throbbing.

Lest sighed, folding his hands on his lap. "Unfortunately, war tends to bring change. Still, I cannot allow too many eccentricities to exist. They tend to be unpredictable. Which is why I'm considering terminating Mikaela."

Krul's eyes flew open, and before she could stop herself she had turned to stare at Lest, the terror evident on her face.

He just laughed blissfully, throwing his head back so far he almost lost his hat. "At last, a reaction out of you! I was beginning to think you had passed out."

"You won't touch a single hair on Mika's head," Krul snarled, not caring about showing emotion anymore. She had already tipped her hand.

Lest smirked at her. "Crowley Eusford has had two of his attendants tracking Mikaela's group for weeks now. We could strike whenever I so please. But don't worry; I won't kill him immediately. He still has his part to play."

The progenitor left his chair and began pacing behind the light, leaving his cane balanced on the seat. It betrayed the fact that he didn't actually need it. It revealed that oftentimes, his apparent weaknesses were merely traps meant to lure one in.

"In two weeks, the southern coalition will march on Sanguinem," he said, stopping just behind the light. There he was nearly invisible. "It is the only vampiric city held by the humans. I intend to reverse that."

Krul merely glowered. "You can't win. The Seraph will destroy you all."

Lest sighed, his shoulders drooping. "Give me more credit, Krul. I don't intend to face the humans while they have access to the Seraph."

Krul stared at him, watched his body language, and couldn't read any of it. "Why are you telling me this?"

Lest grinned, facing her and putting a finger against one of his fangs. "Who knows? Leave the answer to that question to fate…and to your superiors. Goodbye, Krul. I'll be sure to give Mika your farewells."

The glass wall shuddered when Krul leapt forward and crashed against it, her claws scratching the impenetrable surface. "Don't you dare hurt him!" she screamed, struggling to get through to him, but it was too thick and she was too weak.

Lest's hysterical laughter echoed off the walls of the cell as he disappeared into the hall, the door falling shut behind him.

"Careful, Krul. You're beginning to look more human by the minute."

Krul stood in front of the glass for several minutes, now alone, chest heaving with exertion. She was going to be exhausted now; she had been trying to conserve her energy, but had ended up blowing it all on one pointless outburst. But she didn't care anymore. She didn't know.

She couldn't think straight.

Turning away from the glass, she picked up her blanket and curled up in the corner again, trying desperately to hide from the light. She lay their, bathed in the whiteness, separated by a wall from the black.

If someone saw her now, would they see good or evil?

Well, it would depend on who it was.

* * *

Even when Mika had still been aligned with the Kansai vampires, he had never been particularly fond of Chess Belle.

There was just something about her easy aloofness, the sureness with which she viewed the world, that irritated him. She was so convinced that the way she saw the world was the correct way. Never once did she consider humans as nothing more than livestock. Never once did she imagine that it was possible for her lord, Crowley, to fall. Never once did she consider that emotion played a part in the hearts of men.

And perhaps his own heart, as well.

Though to be fair, most vampires were like that. As Mika leapt onto the fifth floor with his sword in hand, he knew this was very true. But Chess was worse somehow. There was a reservedness to the arrogance of most vampires. Chess was defined by her playfulness. She enjoyed being the hunter.

Having spend much of his life being hunted, Mika couldn't help hating Chess.

It appeared that the partially submerged skyscraper had once been a large office building; rows and rows of abandoned cubicles lined the room he found himself in. Long fluorescent lights were dangling from the ceiling, and there was a water cooler tucked against the wall to his right, still half full, as if waiting for someone to come and relieve their thirst, unaware that the world had ended.

A crash up in front of him, but by the time he looked there was only a wildly swinging door that Chess and Horn had run straight through, obviously intent on escaping. A smart move on their part; both progenitors could have fallen to Yoichi's arrows, if not for Chess's quick thinking.

Gripping his sword, Mika bared his teeth and sprinted after them, blowing down the center row of cubicles and crashing through the door.

A gleaming white blade swept up towards his chin the moment he broke through, and Mika just barely raised his own sword to parry the blow, leaning back and sliding to safety.

Horn cursed when her attack failed, moving aside to block the door he had just run through. Her sword arm appeared to be injured; the vampire had clutching her right shoulder with her free hand, fingers gripping gingerly at the hilt. Chess had been able to save her, but only just.

Mika settled into a defensive stance, only to hear the rasping of another sword behind him, and Chess Belle was stalking slowly behind him, so that he was now flanked on both sides.

"Really, Mikaela," Chess clucked, shaking her head in exasperation. "When are you ever going to learn?'

The blond snarled quietly, knowing it had been stupid of him to fall for the same trick twice. But he could barely control himself even now; the desire to know, to force these creatures to tell him where Krul was, had built up so greatly that he wasn't thinking straight.

They were in what appeared to be an old meeting room, with chairs and tables scattered against the scar scored walls. One of the walls was made entirely out of glass, like a massive window, and beyond he could see down to the lake far below.

"Well, not that I really blame you," Chess mused, twirling her sword. "Change doesn't come easy, does it?'

With that they both attacked him, and Mika entered one of the most stacked confrontations of his life.

If both progenitors had been at peak condition, he probably would have died within ten seconds. But luckily Horn was severely injured, and he could tell that Chess had expended a lot of energy to get them both out of trouble. His blade sang a deadly song around his body, as Mika put into practice everything Krul had taught him over the years just barely holding back both of his opponents.

Finally he saw an opening and managed to land a heavy kick to Horn's midsection, sending the blonde staggering back. He whirled around and met Chess's follow up just in time, their blades humming in unison when they crossed each other.

"Not bad, I'll admit," Chess smirked, as they pushed against each other. She was using both hands now. "Krul taught you well. Is that why you care so much for her?"

Mika's pupils dilated and he broke the hold, hacking at the girl's legs, but Chess leapt nimbly out of the way, chuckling hysterically to herself. "She's a vampire, you know! She feels nothing for you. She couldn't even if she wanted to!"

He heard a rustling sound behind him, and knew that Horn was picking herself off the ground. He didn't care what Chess said. He didn't care what other vampires would think. Neither would Krul.

Raising his sword, he prepared himself for the next bloodletting.

* * *

Shinoa could already tell that the pill she had taken earlier was wearing off.

Her legs burned as she and Yuu stormed up the steps of the skyscraper, their footsteps groaning ominously off the concrete walls. They had both sheathed their weapons so they could run faster, but they could still feel the weight of their blades on their bodies, reminding them that death could still be imminent.

In an ideal situation, Shinoa would not have chosen to split her squad up. It was the number one rule anyone learned while fighting for the JIDA; a group of any less than five was likely to die fighting a single noble. But judging from the look on Mika's face, she understood that allowing the two progenitors to escape was not an option this time. She and Yuu would come in from the left, while the rest of them would cover the right. Yoichi would watch from above.

As they approached the fifth floor, Shinoa prayed they would be able to settle this before her pill lost its effect. Otherwise she might have to take a second one to settle the score, and she hadn't exactly done that before. It had never been necessary. She didn't know if her body would be able to handle it. Not everyone got to come back from the dead, not like a certain reckless swordsman.

Yuu had pulled ahead of her on the stairwell, and he reached the door to the fifth floor before she did. He kicked it open and let them in, and for a moment Shinoa saw something indescribable written across his face. It was the same look he wore whenever someone he loved was in danger. The look that said no price was too much. The look that said no life was worth less than his own.

It was the pure, unadulterated willingness to die for a cause, and it made fear sprout in Shinoa's belly.

They ran through a wide room filled with cubicles, weaving their way through the narrow lanes as quickly as they could. The sounds of battle could be heard from up ahead; swords crashing against swords, high pitched, maniacal laughter.

Ragged breathing.

"Mika!" Yuu said, charging in through the door and into the meeting room. Through the opening Shinoa could see the blond being surrounded by both vampires at once, barely fending them off.

Knowing it was too late to convince Yuu to wait, she grabbed a heavy stapler from a nearby desk and chucked it at the back of Horn's head as hard as she could.

Of course, the progenitor sensed it coming and slashed the stapler out of the air, just moments before it would have collided with her head. Shinoa hadn't actually expected the throw to connect; she wasn't that stupid.

But it did give Yuu the opening he needed. The boy rolled past Horn and came up between her and Mika, then he was on the offensive immediately, driving the vampire away from his brother.

"Yuu!" Mika shouted over his shoulder, as he began to focus on holding off Chess, whose attacks had become noticeably stronger after their arrival. "Be careful!"

 _You're the last person I want to hear that from,_ Yuu thought, increasing the tempo of his strokes, trying to keep up with Horn. The vampire may be injured, but she was still a noble, and his pill wasn't going to last forever. Curse marks continued to creep steadily across his skin, and Horn bared her teeth in response, sword tip flashing through the air despite her injured shoulder.

Shinoa ran across the room towards Horn, intending to attack her from behind, but before she could Yuu made a mistake.

It was just a tiny error; in his haste to push Horn away from Mika, Yuu lunged forward and overstepped his range, sending his just slightly off balance. A human swordsman might not have even noticed, but vampires were different. Perfection was key when fighting a noble.

Horn's uninjured arm lashed out at the speed of light, and before Shinoa could react she grabbed Yuu and hurled him through the wall, sending him crashing into the room filled with cubicles.

"Yuu!" Shinoa screamed, turning to look through the hole that had been punched through the wall by the door. She heard the sound of crashing plastic, as Yuu's body plowed through the flimsy cubicle walls.

Then it was silent, so terrifyingly silent, and she wanted nothing more than to run to his side and help him, but Horn had other ideas.

Shinoa stopped the vampire's blade without looking, the long blade of her scythe coming up to hug the the blonde's weapon. Horn growled and tried to press, but Shinoa simply disengaged and began swinging wildly, coming at her opponents from every conceivable angle. She didn't know what she was doing; their was no form to her attacks, no pattern, just pure rage and _fear._ Horn's eyes widened and she stepped back, caught off guard by the pure ferocity of the girl's attacks, but Shinoa didn't register this in her mind. All she knew was that Horn Skuld had to pay. She had to pay for hurting Shinoa's teammate.

She had to pay for hurting Yuu.

 _Damn._ Horn felt her heart rate increasing as she continued to fall beneath Shinoa's relentless onslaught, her injured sword arm weakening with every parry. She didn't know if she would be able to keep up for much longer.

The look on the little girl's face was something to see, though. Horn wasn't very articulate in the wide range of human emotions, but she figured that particular expression was…perhaps fear? Or even hatred? Most likely a mixture of both. The girl's amber colored eyes were drawn wide, the pupils shrunk so far that they were like twin pinpricks in a sea of white, and her teeth were bared so wide she could have passed for a vampire herself.

It was a ferocious expression, one Horn had only seen on human faces, when they were at their most desperate.

It seemed emotion had some utility after all.

Kneeling down, Shinoa swept her scythe at Horn's legs, the blade rushing downward at incredible speed.

The progenitor leapt upward to dodge the attack, but realized too late that this had been part of the girl's plan.

"Go, Shi-chan!" Shinoa snarled, whirling her scythe and holding a hand out before her.

A great, black mass emerged from behind the girl's body and caught Horn in midair, seizing her in its claws and plowing her through the same wall she had just thrown Yuu through. It threw her against the wall and blasted against her until its body ran out, leaving the blonde to slump limply to the ground, dazed by the suddenness of the attack.

Ignoring Mika and Chess for now, Shinoa leapt through the hole in the wall and approached Horn slowly, her scythe at the ready.

Horn raised her head through half closed eyes, squinting as a thin trail of blood began trickling down her face. Shinoa closed in steadily from the far side of the room, her scythe spinning slowly behind her, dusting black flames in her wake that seemed to rise up like death crows on the darkest of nights. She looked like some rogue grim reaper, come to take Horn's soul and punish it for eternity, should she manage to kill her.

The look in the girl's eyes. They were murderous.

The thought gave Horn was motivation, and she tried to get up.

Shinoa saw this and showed her teeth, reaching into her pocket. She had no choice. She would have to take a second pill. Even if it was slightly risky, in theory she should be able to handle it. Few people had actually died from taking their second pill.

Not that she had the best of luck, but she tried not to think about that.

As Shinoa's fingers reached into her breast pocket, something rustled off to the side, punctuated by a painful groan.

There, buried beneath a small mountain of cubicle walls and rubble, Yuu was slowly pulling himself to freedom, grunting loudly all the way. His leg was still trapped beneath the debris, and he was struggling to pull it free, using his sword to hack at the makeshift chains.

Both Shinoa and Horn saw this at the same moment, and they both had the same, terrible thought.

Their eyes met, from opposite sides of the room, from dark to light.

And Horn grinned at her.

There was a great shockwave of energy as Horn put everything she had into one last spurt, springing to her feet and flying across the room at breakneck speed, straight to the spot where Yuu was still trapped. If she was destined to lose this battle, she would at least take the Seraph gene to the grave with her.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. It was a trite phrase, but almost immediately afterwards Shinoa had dry swallowed her second pill, and it seemed like her brain exploded with processing power, taking in so much information at once that it slowed her perception of time. Her bloodshot eyes tracked Horn's movement across the room, and then her own body was moving, but slowly, so slowly, that she didn't know if she was going to make it in time, if anyone was ever going to make it in time.

Ah. This fear. This deep, ugly sort of fear that she just wanted to repress. Where had she felt this sort of fear before? It was a familiar feeling, like an old enemy, an old scar that still ached during the winter. When had her heart beat in this way in the past?

Yes. She remembered. That fateful night so many years ago, when her own dearly beloved sister had turned into a demon, and Guren had been forced to kill her.

She had been present, within arm's reach even, when Guren's blade entered Mahiru's abdomen and ripped upward, tearing the human turned monster in two. Even if she knew it was wrong, Shinoa had always thought that she could have stopped Guren if she wanted to. And part of her had really wanted to stop Guren in that moment, but her body simply refused to move, and before she knew it she had lost one of the few people she had actually cared about in this world, a world where monsters ate men and became monsters themselves.

She had lived her entire life up until this point believing that there was no point in sacrificing herself for someone else. She had been unable to do it for Mahiru, after all. And she was never going to love someone more than she had loved Mahiru.

It was easier just to protect herself.

But now, as her shoes blazed a trail across the room, as her deep ashen hair billowed behind her like an ancient flame, as her scythe burned with unholy fire, Shinoa had only one though on her mind. And that was to protect Yuu at any cost, for without him there was no life worth living.

Everything happened in a millisecond, like the taut string of time had been snapped at long last. Horn blasted across the room, Shinoa flew after her, and Yuu watched in horror as both females charted a collision course right in front of him, with no way to tell who would reach him first.

Horn smiled softly again, and angled her sword towards Yuu's chest.

Then Shinoa came roaring in from the side, and, releasing a guttural scream from deep within her chest, cleaved Horn completely in two.

Her scythe came down like the hammer of god, with so much force that it actually ripped through Horn's entire body in a single stroke, entering through the vampire's forehead and crashing down the length of her spine, then past the pelvis, and then her blade was buried throat deep into the ground, and two halves of Horn Skuld were floating in the air before them.

Horn's separated eyes seemed to meet Shinoa's for the smallest of moments, and the lavender haired girl saw something in those eyes she had never seen in a vampire before.

She saw fear.

Then a gentle gust swept through the skyscraper, and Horn Skuld was now ashes, dissipating eternally into the wind.

Shinoa stood there in silence, breathing heavily, the shaft of her scythe slick with sweat. Her heart was beating abnormally fast. She was seeing strange colors.

"…Woah," Yuu breathed, frozen in place, not even trying to free his leg anymore. "You saved me."

"Of course I did," Shinoa murmured, swaying on her feet, Curse marks were now reaching all the way across her entire face. "I'm your beloved…reliable sergeant…"

Eyes rolled back in her head, and then the ground was rushing up to meet her, and the last thing she heard was Yuu's voice calling her name.

* * *

She was trapped within her inner self, and her body was her prison.

The earth and the sky were the same color, a pale baby blue, but where the two extremes met there was only darkness, a black line that separated one from the other. Only more proof that though light illuminated, it was darkness that divided.

Shikama-Doji was standing a ways ahead of her, still in that same shapeless form she always appeared in. Had she been a more powerful demon, perhaps she would have been able to assume a humanoid form like Asuramaru. Or perhaps Shinoa's own mind was too weak to imagine anything else.

The sergeant remained where she was, standing on the colorless blue, watching her demon quietly. She knew from years of experience that it was usually better to let Shikama take things at her own pace. Besides, things like time didn't exist within this realm.

At last the demon turned to face her, and in her hand she was gripping what appeared to be a glass orb, just about the size of a baseball. Her black claws were wrapped around its surface, but Shinoa could see another darkness inside of it, swirling about and growing stronger by the moment.

They regarded each other, until Shinoa asked the most obvious question at hand.

"Am I dead?"

Shikama shook her head, little trails of black fire floating off her body. [ _No. You survived. But just barely._ ]

It appeared that the demon was more articulate when they were communicating directly like this. Shinoa pursed her lips at the revelation, crossing her arms behind her back. "When will I wake up?"

Shikama turned away and went back to watching the horizon, the black line that broke the light. [ _Soon. Your brain overheated, that was all. Not used to taking two pills._ ]

Shinoa eyed her partner's back carefully. One always had to be careful when trying to read demons. Their set of values was completely different from a human's. "Aren't you going to try and take over my body?" It was what a demon would have done. But Shikama wasn't an ordinary demon. And they had known each other for a long time.

Fingers tightened around the glass orb, drawing Shinoa's amber eyes to it for a second time. She wondered why the demon had it. [ _Do you want me to?_ ]

The sergeant sighed. "Shouldn't my answer be obvious?"

Shikama said nothing, just turned the orb over in her hands, as if lost in thought. Assuming demons were capable of that.

Finally Shinoa exhaled impatiently through her nose, failing to comprehend the lengthy silence. "What's wrong, Shi-chan? Why are you being like this?"

The black flames cloaking Shikama's body flared out briefly. [ _I am not sure myself. But I sense that your values are changing._ ]

"…What?"

The demon shook herself, as if agitated. [ _You forget that the two of us are linked, Shinoa. I feel what you feel. I felt the fear you just felt. The fear of loss. The fear for another._ ]

Shinoa frowned, raising an eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chest this time. "So what? I've used your powers to protect my friends before. This is no different."

[ _I know._ ] Shikama looked down at the orb in her hand, and far in the distance the black line seemed to grow thicker. [ _But I always knew you would put yourself first. Now I'm not so sure._ ]

Shinoa watched confusedly as the demon began pacing back and forth, palming the glass orb.

[ _Do you remember the day we contracted, Shinoa? The reason why I chose to lend my powers to you._ ] Shikama paused. [ _I chose you because you also seemed to understand that we are all alone in this world. Your greatest concern was for yourself, as it should be._ ]

Shinoa narrowed her eyes. "I'm a Hiiragi. We tend to be rather selfish."

But Shikama just shook her head again. [ _Your sister was not like that. I spent some time in her body, if you don't remember. In the end, she died for someone other than herself. I am only glad she didn't take me with her._ ]

"What are you trying to say?" Shinoa asked bitterly, gritting her teeth.

[ _I'm saying that this might be your last time to turn back,_ ] Shikama said abruptly, and at last she turned to face Shinoa fully. [ _If things continue this way, you will no longer be the girl you were when we contracted. The carefully drawn lines we have played around ourselves will deteriorate. I am offering you a chance to avoid that._ ]

The demon held out the glass orb between them. Inside, the black and white were swirling perpetually about each other, eternally balanced. But only for now.

[ _This is your soul,_ ] Shikama explained. [ _If you so wish it, I could enter it completely and take over your body. You would lose your humanity, but you would need have to feel the pain of losing someone again. You would never have to fear watching Yuu die._ ]

Shinoa peered into the glass orb that encapsulated her essence, and thought that it was actually ridiculously small, just the right size to fit into Shikama's palm. Could something so insubstantial really protect everything she cared about? Would she have the strength to never lose someone again? Maybe Shikama was right. She couldn't lose something she didn't have.

As the demon waited, Shinoa closed her eyes for a long moment, but when she opened them she was smiling wanly.

"I'm sorry, Shi-chan," she said. "But I can't accept your offer. I can't leave any of them behind. I can't leave Yuu behind."

Shikama's eyes bored into her. [ _This is only for your own benefit, Shinoa. I remember the pain you felt when you lost your sister. It was deep enough that I was nearly able to consume you from the inside. Are you prepared to risk feeling that again?_ ]

Shinoa's smile deepened, and this time she was the one turning away from the demon, pacing languidly towards the horizon. "I don't know. Probably not. But at the same time…I feel like I need to watch out for him. I haven't changed, Shi-chan. I still believe it's best just to watch out for myself. But he's special. I feel like I need to stay by his side, for just a little longer."

Shikama sighed and hid the orb away in her body. [ _Very well. I hope you don't come to regret your decision._ ]

"You'll follow me regardless, won't you?" Shinoa pointed out.

[ _Yes. I am not your usual demon, after all,_ ] Shikama murmured, before burning out into ashes. The horizon began to recede.

[ _I'm only worried because humans have a bad habit of dying._ ]

* * *

"I'm sure she'll wake up soon, Yuu. Shinoa's a strong girl."

"She overexerted herself enough to take down a progenitor in one hit, Yoichi. I don't know if she's going to be okay…"

"She was able to do that _because_ she's strong. Have more faith in her."

Shinoa let her head fall limply to the side. She was in the meeting room again, the one with the glass wall, laid out over a large table in the center of the room. It was less than comfortable, and the hard surface of the table dug into her tired muscles, but at least that meant she was alive.

"I hope so." Yuu was sitting on the floor beside Yoichi, facing away from Shinoa and towards the glass wall. He was wringing his hands. "I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose anyone."

"Yuu," Shinoa croaked, her throat dry and raw, voice just barely slipping through.

The swordsman whirled around and saw her, and then he was scrambling to his feet and running over to the table, abandoning his sword on the floor in his haste.

"Shinoa," he breathed, stopping in front of the table. "Are you okay?"

The sergeant put an arm over her eyes, letting out a pent up breath. "Do I look okay?"

Yuu sighed in relief at the sarcastic response. "I guess you're fine, then."

"I-I'll go tell the others you're awake," Yoichi volunteered, before scurrying out of the room.

Once he left Shinoa tried to sit up on the table, but hot lights exploded behind her eyes and she fell to her back again, groaning in discomfort.

"Shinoa…" Yuu murmured, reaching out and putting a hand on the girl's wrist, feeling for her pulse. It was skyrocketing.

For some reason Shinoa found herself grasping at the boy's hand, lacing her fingers through his. She didn't know why she did it, but Yuu didn't object, and it gave her strength. His hands were warm, calloused.

Eventually the hot throbbing in her head receded somewhat, and she managed to sit up on her own power, rubbing gingerly at her temples afterwards.

"Are you hurt anywhere inside?" Yuu asked, holding her by the shoulders and casting his gaze around her entire body, like he could see internal bleeding that way. Shinoa rolled her eyes at the misguided attempt to care.

"I'm fine. None of my organs ruptured," she assured him, pushing his hands away gently. "My body just wasn't used to handling two pills at once."

"I can't believe you just charged in like that," he murmured, taking a step back. Shinoa hopped off the table and landed on her feet, wobbling slightly before regaining her balance. "I thought I was going to die for sure back there."

"Well, I wasn't about to let her kill my favorite private," Shinoa smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes felt dry and they burned when she blinked. Her entire body hurt, but she tried not to show it.

Yuu just smiled weakly back. "So I'm your favorite private now?"

"Sure you are. Feel honored," Shinoa replied airily, walking stiffly past Yuu and standing in front of the wall of glass. She looked down at the street below. "Where are the others?"

"In the other room, interrogating Chess," Yuu said, walking up behind her.

Shinoa blinked in surprise. "They managed to subdue her without killing her?"

"I wanted to just kill her outright, but Mika asked us to wait." Yuu pursed his lips. "He wants to ask her where they're keeping someone. I can't remember who it was."

So that was what this was all about. She had been right; Mika wanted to discover Krul's location. She wasn't so sure what good that information would do. Even if they managed to extract it from Chess, she doubted they would be able to save Krul, wherever she was.

"We should go help them," she said, turning towards the door.

Yuu's hand stopped her, and she glowered up at him. "Rest first," he chided, steering her back to the wall of glass. "Mika said they have things under control. You're in no condition to fight, anyway."

So the boy had seen through her front. He knew just how weak she was at the moment. Perhaps she shouldn't be surprised; Yuu had nearly died from overdosing on pills before as well. "And you aren't?"

The boy smirked. "My job is to keep an eye on you."

That made Shinoa roll her eyes again. She was the one usually keeping an eye on Yuu, not the other way around. She sat down a few feet from the wall of glass, crossing her legs. Yuu joined her a few moments later, and together they watched the morning lights dance through the window.

"Was anyone else hurt in the fight?" Shinoa asked. Her voice came out more softly than she had intended, hushed, like she was afraid to ask.

"Mika took a lot of cuts fighting Chess," Yuu said. "But I let him feed from me, and most of his wounds have closed up. He'll be fine."

So they had managed not to lose anyone this time, either. First the Horseman and the convoy, now the two vampire nobles. Shinoa didn't know how long they could continue this before they weren't so lucky anymore. Eventually one of them was going to die. It was a question of when, not if.

Biting her lip, the sergeant closed her eyes and lowered her head. There she went again, thinking negative thoughts. It was in her nature, she knew; but wasn't that the simple reality?

She knew Yuu didn't think that way. Yuu had the courage to defy reality. He had the audacity to believe he could defeat chance, that he could beat probability. He could think that way because he was willing to give up his life for the people he loved.

Shinoa was not.

"Promise you won't do something reckless like that again," Yuu said, breaking into her thoughts.

Far ahead of them, the sun had broken through the heavy blanket of clouds above the shallow lake. Its light skipped across the water and poked at her eyes, and for a moment she thought she saw the black horizon of her dreams.

"You would have died if I didn't do something," Shinoa countered, looking down at her hands.

Yuu sidled a little closer to her, until their shoulders were brushing. "I know. I'm saying that's okay. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I don't want any of you guys to get hurt."

 _But what if I feel the same as you do?_ Shinoa thought. It would have been an appropriate response, but the problem was that she didn't believe it. If anything, Yuu's words should make her happy. He was allowing her to lead the same selfish lifestyle she had always led. He was allowing her to protect only herself. She should have been satisfied with that. This way, she wouldn't have to change.

But inside, she only felt cold.

Why was that? It didn't make any sense. Logically, she knew that Shikama was right. They were all alone, in this cruel world of theres. They all died the same. In that way, no life was different from another. If she was going to save one person, it might as well be herself.

Her eyes were burning, prickling. Shinoa shut them and pressed the backs of her palms against the lids. She didn't know. She didn't want to think about it right now.

Thinking back, she remembered that fear that had consumed her, in the brief instant before she killed Horn. She could still feel it, the exhilarating rush, the mixture of fear and hatred and love, as she cleaved the vampire clean in half.

She remembered that, and held fast to it. It was the only concrete thing she had to go on right now.

She was so tired.

Yuu blinked when something small and soft landed against his shoulder, and when he looked to the side Shinoa was leaning heavily against him, eyes closed as she propped her head against the boy's chest.

"Shinoa?" he breathed, feeling his heart jump.

"Shut up," she muttered, turning to bury her nose in Yuu's shirt. "I've earned this much. Indulge me."

With that said, she grabbed Yuu's hand and placed in on her head, before promptly falling asleep against him.

Yuu stared at the mystery of a girl for a long moment, then sighed and obliged her, stroking her hair in smooth, gentle movements. Shinoa purred as the sensation sent tingles down her spine, and she pressed even closer to him, allowing herself to indulge in the security of the moment, the joy in knowing she had save this boy, that for a time, his life had been hers.

It awoke a strange sensation within her, one she hadn't felt in years, not since she had had the luxury of spending time with her sister. It was the feeling of putting her safety in someone else's hands. She knew she shouldn't be allowing this. But the loving, reverent scratch of Yuu's fingers as they ran through her hair, the warmth of his body, and the steady rise and fall of his breathing…

It reminded her of a better time.

"Do you promise to be more careful?" Yuu whispered to her, his breath tickling her ear.

Shinoa just breathed slowly against him, feeling her muscles relax, pretending that she hadn't heard the boy's question.

* * *

Krul was jolted awake when the door opened once again.

This time it was one of the guards, bringing in her schedule allowance of blood. He came in wheeling that huge cart of blood, but she knew she was only going to get one of the dozens of packs laid out on the cart. It was a torturous sight on its own.

The guard opened a little hatch in the glass wall and tossed a pack of blood in. Krul dragged herself to her feet and walked over to it, bending down and picking it up in her hand.

When she looked up, she sensed an opportunity.

The guard had left the cart unattended to adjust something about the light, which they had thankfully dimmed a little during the past few hours. His back was to the wall of glass, and he couldn't see Krul from his position.

There were dozens of empty blood packs already scattered around her cell. Another one would be easily disguised among them.

Moving quickly, she reached through the glass hatch and grabbed two more packs, tossing them into a pile of empty ones nearby.

A moment later the guard finished and returned to the cart. He gave Krul a mean look before disappearing into the hall.

She waited until his footsteps were no longer audible before running back to the pile of trash, digging through it until she found the filled packs disguised underneath.

This was it. This was the beginning of a new hope. A path out of this accursed cell, and a new life beyond the reach of Lest Karr. Hastily, she screwed the cap off the first pack.

Tilting her head back, she began to drink.

* * *

A/N

This was supposed to go up tomorrow but I was done so hey why not.

Yuunoa moments are scattered kind of sparsely so far, and I can only promise that they will increase in density, probably started at around chapter 10 (I think?) and I mean they're gonna increase a LOT. Just not yet.

Tell me what you guys think about this chapter! Reviewer responses below.

Thanks for reading!

~Banshee

* * *

Reviewer Responses

Justinsj5: I know, me too. But patience is a virtue.

Classifiedanime: I actually haven't read semper memento yet, but I'm familiar with the title. I found out that story got discontinued so now I'm kind of reluctant to start reading it, haha.

Blankprofe: Leave me alone omg


	5. Conflict of Interest

"So I was feeding on this one soldier, right, you know, after that one time we took out a convoy…yeah, that one. I was feeding on him when he started doing the strangest thing. You'll never guess. He was _crying._ I mean, not like I haven't seen a human do that before. But I've never understood it. He kept cursing me, cursing _us,_ for killing his 'comrades'. I don't see why he's so surprised. They never stood a chance against us; he should have expected to die. And death comes for us all regardless. I just don't see the point in grieving about it. Do you?"

-Chess Belle, in a conversation with Horn Skuld at an unknown point in time

* * *

Chapter 5: Conflict of Interest

Shinoa was woken by the gentle sound of Yuu's voice.

"Hey. Wake up," the boy whispered, tickling the girl's ear. Still half asleep, Shinoa just frowned in disapproval and snuggled closer to Yuu, making the swordsman clear his throat uncomfortably. "We should probably go check on the others now…"

"They capable of taking care of themselves," Shinoa sighed, still refusing to move.

"But they're in there with a _vampire._ I'm worried for their well being."

 _What about my well being?_ she griped, but forced herself to get up nonetheless, leaving behind the warmth of Yuu's chest. As the boy grabbed his sword and stood up, Shinoa patted consciously at her hair, noticing that it was mussed up where it had been pressing against him.

Their eyes met, briefly, and the realization of what they had just been doing occurred to them.

"Um. Sorry," Shinoa muttered, looking away as she ran fingers through her hair. "I must have been heavy…"

Yuu just smiled sheepishly, offering her a hand to get up. "Don't worry about it. I hardly felt anything."

"Are you suggesting that I'm empty headed?" Shinoa snarked, grabbing the boy's hand. He pulled her up with surprising ease; he was stronger than he looked.

The swordsman just rolled his eyes. Even though Shinoa was on her feet by now, their hands seemed to linger for a moment before separating. "We both know I'm not that indirect."

"Mmm," Shinoa agreed, smiling playfully. She flicked Yuu on the chin in passing, before heading over to the door and grabbing the knob.

Turning, she walked into the other room.

Before her eyes could register anything, her ears picked up the sound of two voices raging against each other, both strained and on the brink of emotional breakdown.

"Tell me where she is!" Mika demanded, holding his throat to Chess's throat.

Chess Belle was tied to a support beam that had fallen in from the roof, or perhaps it was more accurate to say she was pinned to it; one of Yoichi's arrows was impaled through the flesh of both of her wrists, the sharp end of the bolt buried deep inside the steel beam. Had her feet been similarly bound she would have seemed like some warped depiction of a crucifixion, and if Mika had Horn's whip at the moment he almost certainly would have used it.

As Shinoa walked in with Yuu close behind, the progenitor reared back and spat at Mika's boots, her fangs wide open and baring. "Fuck you! You just killed Horn! Like hell I would tell you damn traitors anything. I'd rather die!"

"That can be easily arranged," Mika snarled, pressing his blade further against Chess's flesh. It pierced her skin and sent a thin line of blood trickling down past her collarbone, but the vampire didn't even flinch.

The rest of the squad was watching from the other side of the room, though they had their weapons on hand should Chess manage to escape somehow. Shinoa approached them quietly, catching on that this was something Mika had to handle himself.

"What happened?" she whispered, standing behind Mitsuba.

The blonde shook her head. "It took forever to subdue her rather than just kill her outright. Almost died about a dozen times, too. I thought she was just about to escape when Yoichi managed to pin her with an arrow."

"It was a lucky shot. But I felt sick after," the archer said, shuddering. He was avoiding looking at the heavily bleeding holes in Chess's wrists. "All that blood…"

Shinoa pursed her lips, eyeing the two vampires on the other side of the room. "Has Mikaela made any progress?"

"As if. A progenitor wouldn't break down and give information so easily," Kimizuki muttered, toying with his swords. He looked antsy. "I think we'll end up having to kill her anyway."

The sergeant glanced at the taller boy, wondering what had him all restless. Before she could ask, however, they were all distracted by a loud smack from across the room.

When they looked over, Shinoa realized Mika had struck Chess across the face as hard as he could. The sound of the slap rang through the empty office building, and the pale skin of Chess's cheek was glaring an angry red. Mika's shoulders were heaving, his breathing labored despite himself.

Then those shoulders drooped, and his sword fell to his side.

"I just want to know where she is," he sighed. He didn't sound particularly angry. Not particularly distraught, either. His voice was toneless. Dead. Detached from this world. "Can't you just tell me?"

Chess's head was hanging limply from her neck, her dark purple hair hanging around her eyes like snakes, concealing her expression. Her arms were still wrenched painfully upwards by the arrow buried in her wrists, with almost black looking blood webbing its way down. Shinoa could see the muscles straining desperately in those arms. Surely Chess had things she wanted to do with those arms. Surely those ruined hands had once held dreams.

If she had lacked context, perhaps Shinoa might have even felt pity for Chess.

Or even with context, maybe.

As she watched, the vampire turned her head and spat on the floor beside her, a small glob of blood staining the wood.

"You'll kill me regardless of what I do," she said lowly, her voice almost too soft to hear. "Krul's fate is sealed, Mikaela. She'll die, alone and abandoned, tied up in a filthy prison like I am now. She'll die the same way as I will. Third or seventeenth progenitor; it doesn't matter. So just kill me."

Mika bared his teeth and raised his sword again, and Shinoa found herself silent urging him on, thinking that he must kill her, he must kill Chess now. Mika had to slay the small hope he was holding on to with Krul. It would be better that way. Better to let this small string go now instead of feeling it snap much later.

He stood there for a long time, sword above his head, ready to strike. The rest of the squad held their breath, watching him.

Finally the blond snarled and sheathed his sword, turning swiftly away from Chess.

"Keep an eye on her," he growled, before stalking out of the room.

"God damn," Shinoa heard Kimizuki mutter under his breath. Then the pink haired boy was following Mika down the hall, disappearing a few moments later.

Shinoa stared after him for a moment, wondering why he of all people would pursue Mika, when even Yuu was still standing behind her. When no one else made to follow suit, she shrugged to herself and took a chair by the wall, turning it so that she was facing Chess. Yuu sat in the chair with her, as it was large enough to fit both of them.

Mitsuba simply took a seat on the floor, while Yoichi leaned against the wall behind her. All of them kept their weapons at the ready.

They watched Chess for a long time, but the vampire never did anything. She hardly moved, her body limp against the steel support beam, her head hanging loosely between her shoulders. It was a strange sight to see. Shinoa had never seen a progenitor look so defeated before.

A strong wind slipped in through the shattered windows, ruffling their clothes and making Shinoa shiver. She instinctively pressed closer to Yuu for warmth, and the swordsman didn't mind.

Mitsuba, meanwhile, was staring hard at Chess, wringing her fingers. Her eyes never left the progenitor, and after several minutes of staring she finally called out to her from across the room.

"Hey, vampire. Let me ask you a question."

Chess did not respond, but the blonde merely assumed she was being heard.

"Why do you hunt us?" Mitsuba asked bitterly, gripping the shaft of her axe. "Why do you feed on us and kill us? You were the ones who started this war. You were the ones who tried to enslave us. So…just _why?_ "

The vampire was silent for many moments, and eventually Mitsuba gave up on getting a response, and went back to musing.

Suddenly Chess lifted her head, and the words that rose from her lips were hoarse and broken.

"We didn't start this war. You humans did. You started it when you released the plague. We merely emerged to protect our source of food. The alternative to war was death."

"Like I care," Mitsuba sneered. "War itself is death. My old team is all dead because of the wasteland you created. And now we're risking our lives every day for the same reason."

Chess merely snorted softly and looked to the side, a strange smile on her face.

"What else could you expect?" she asked, shrugging as best she could with her pinned arms. "My race acted in its own interest. We were…we were just trying to protect our own. And so was I."

"Well, some great job you did," Mitsuba pointed out, tossing her hair behind her back. "Your friend's dead now."

"I know," Chess whispered, looking down at the ground once more. "I know…"

Then something truly incredible occurred. Chess began to cry. Small, tiny tears dripped from her eyes to her nose and down to the ground. Shinoa couldn't believe what she was seeing. Crying, the ultimate pinnacle of many emotions, happiness, sadness, grieve, anger, loss…from a _vampire?_

The condescending look dropped off of Mitsuba's face, and then the squad could only watch in disbelief as Chess continued to sob quietly to herself, saying Horn's name over and over and over again.

Privately, Shinoa wished she could rewrite that one essay from high school.

* * *

Krul could feel her strength returning with every passing hour.

It certainly hadn't been easy, however; it was crucial that she not be caught in the process of swiping extra blood. Failing even once would almost definitely result in some severe and painful consequence, perhaps even the end of her life. She might have lived for more than a thousand years, but there were still a few things she had left to take care of. So death wasn't much of an option.

Unfortunately, she wasn't always successful in fooling the guards. Of five total chances, she had had managed to steal an additional blood pack only three times. Two other times someone else had had their eye on her, or she didn't move quickly enough. With not much else to do, Krul spent several hours afterwards thinking about those two blood packs, fantasizing about how much stronger and healthier she would feel if she had managed to nab them.

Still, three extra packs were more than enough to lift her out of the languid fog her mind had been wallowing in for the past few months. Her thoughts took greater clarity, and she could plan ahead with greater shrewdness. This would be important when it came time for her eventual escape, which she did indeed plan to attempt. She had no intention of rotting at the hands of Lest and Ferid.

Looking down at her hands, she gazed at the stolen blood she was holding in her hand. As she screwed off the cap on the top and threw it down her throat, she carefully gauged the health of her body. She was close. Much closer now. She was still very far from full strength, but she was recovering enough to make a mad run for it. Two more. She would just need two more packs.

The calculating side of her wanted to wait a little longer than that, to stock as much power as she could before attempting to escape. But time was not on Krul's side this time. She only had less than a week left before Lest's armies planned to march on Sanguinem. Based on what she had heard the guards murmuring to each other in passing, she could mostly assume that wasn't a lie.

A little inference was all it took to realize that Mika must be heading there as well.

Exhaling through her nose, she reached up and wiped at her mouth with a sleeve. She had to escape within the next two days. It would take at least three more to travel from Tenebris-Lux to Sanguinem on foot.

Speaking of her current location, she needed to start plotting her eventual escape. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to conjure up every memory she had of the city, which she had admittedly been to only a few times before.

Her finger began tracing across the floor, drawing out a path to freedom.

* * *

The door to a small office down the hall was kicked open as Mika stormed through it, his mind a mess of conflicted emotions.

It was a small, cramped space, just barely large enough for five people to lay side by side on the floor together. There was a tiny desk shoved into the far corner, its surface littered with miscellaneous objects. Mika walked over to that desk and slammed the top of it as hard as he could, and though it somehow managed to not split clean through the middle, he heard the wood inside pop.

He stood there, breathing heavily for several moments, until footsteps came up behind him and Kimizuki was following him into the room.

"What the hell do you want?" Mika growled, not turning around.

The pink haired boy didn't say anything, just pursed his lips and closed the door softly behind him. He stood in front of the wall and watched Mika silently, as the blond vampire hung his head limply, wishing the human would just leave him alone.

"She won't tell you anything," Kimizuki said at last, sheathing his swords.

Mika showed his teeth. "You don't know that."

"You know I'm right," the human boy countered, crossing his arms. "Vampires are very pragmatic. She gains nothing from telling you where…your vampire friend is. And even if she did tell you, we probably can't save her."

Mika clenched his jaw until it hurt, fingers curling against the worn surface of the desk. He could see now why Yuu clashed so often with this boy, even if it was mostly playful. Kimizuki was irritating to a fault, and it was made even worse by the fact that he was right.

"I don't care where Krul is. I'll keep hurting Chess until she breaks," he muttered. "Even progenitors fear death."

Kimizuki exhaled loudly through his nose, obviously agitated himself. "And how long is that going to take? Days? Weeks? We don't _have_ that kind of time. We're already wasting enough of it by idling here."

Already fazed by his emotions from earlier, Mika spoke without thinking. "What's your problem? Why do you care about getting to Sanguinem so much?"

"So I can save my sister!" Kimizuki snapped, and Mika cursed himself for forgetting something so important. "You forget that this isn't just about rescuing Guren. Those guys are using my sister as a _weapon of mass destruction._ Do you know how that feels? To see her being used as another cog in their war machine?"

"I don't care about your sister," Mika muttered, avoiding eye contact. "I'm only here because I need to protect Yuu. And he's too stubborn to give up on Guren."

"Exactly," Kimizuki seethed, stalking forward until he was nose to nose with Mika. Lifting a finger, he stabbed it against the boy's chest. "You're more than capable of prioritizing, of choosing one thing over the other. So you should be able to choose all of us over Krul. Don't waste time trying to start something you can't finish. Let Krul go. _Kill Chess._ "

Mika glared at Kimizuki for a long time, then shoved him away, trying to reclaim some personal space. "Get off me," he grunted, turning back to the desk and leaning his hands upon it.

He bit his lip, closing his eyes tightly. Why did he even go after Chess and Horn to begin with? He had always wondered what had happened to Krul, of course, but it had always been something he was able to repress, to keep it from consuming his mind. But seeing the two progenitors had awoken something in him. The same kind of feeling that drove him to protect Yuu. Before he knew what he was doing he was taking off after them.

In a perfect world, he would be able to protect Yuu and save Krul. But this world was far from perfect, he knew. He had said so himself.

He just hated being forced to choose.

There was a small photo on a stand by his hand, propped up by the edge of the desk. In it there was a picture of a woman and a small girl smiling for the camera, presumably mother and daughter. The photo itself was worn and tattered, but its meaning remained strong. Mika wished he could smile like that one day. He wished he could have his entire family in one place, together. He wanted that chance.

"I won't kill Krul," he said softly, clenching his fists. "I don't care how long it takes. I'll make Chess tell me."

Kimizuki was stone silent behind him, and when he did speak his voice was low and dangerous. "Is finding Krul more important than all of us? Than my sister? Than Yuu?"

Mika stared downwards. "I don't know. But I refuse to choose."

The boy behind him sneered. "If you won't kill her, than I will," he snarled, and then he was throwing the door aside and running, straight down the length of the hall.

"Wh…no! Don't kill her!" Mika screamed, running after him as fast as he could. His heart was pumping loudly in his ears, and it was constricting painfully as pure and genuine fear rode through his system.

He was much faster than Kimizuki, but it was just a short distance to Chess and the human had a head start. When Mika rounded the corner the boy was already charging towards Chess with both his swords drawn, the vampire hissing and raising her legs in self defense, but Mika knew the move was useless. The rest of the squad was hanging back in surprise, not knowing what had happened but not stopping Kimizuki either, as the distance between them grew ever closer.

Kimizuki's swords bore down towards Chess's neck, and at the same moment Mika drew his sword and lunged.

Mika's sword cut off Kimizuki's at the last second, but the block was not strong enough to stop the blow completely. Instead both their weapons were yanked upwards by the recoil, smashing through Yoichi's arrow and splintering it into a hundred pieces.

As Kimizuki's eyes went wide at the sight, Chess clenched her bleeding hands and dashed towards Yuu.

Time was slow, but Chess's mind was moving at the speed of light. She had foreseen that Mikaela's block would veer off course. It was a chance to break free. But she also knew that she was not nearly strong enough to survive a fight with the entire squad.

Her death was imminent, then. So be it. If she was destined to die, she would take at least one of them with her.

And who better than the boy with the power to end the world?

Chess's blood red eyes narrowed as Yuu's green ones widened, and the vampire's claws reached for the boy's heart. The least she could do was prevent another person from becoming the Seraph of the End. It would be her final contribution to the cause. It would be her farewell to Horn.

 _Goodbye, Horn. I hope this is enough to avenge you._

Chess closed her eyes, waiting for the feeling of hot flesh between her fingers.

A blur from the side, and Mika's sword came screaming down in time to cut through her body.

If she had been present to see it, Chess would have found it ironic that she and Horn had died in a rather similar manner. Bound, even until death. Their partnership would be eternal.

 _Horn,_ she whispered, then her body was ashes, billowing forward and blowing past Mika's still form.

Everything was frozen for one impossible moment, all eyes on Mikaela, until his slowly dragged himself to his feet.

"Mika…" Yuu whispered, his pupils dilated. There was a dark energy surrounding his brother. He reached out to comfort him, but the blond was already beyond his reach, running across the room to where Kimizuki was standing.

The pink haired boy had just sheathed his swords, and was turning around when Mika punched him in the face.

The force of the blow threw him across the room and onto his back, and Mika was upon him in an instant, powerful hands reaching down to coil around his neck. Then those hands were squeezing, and Kimizuki gasped as his windpipe was restricted, clawing desperately at the vampire's grip.

Mika was seeing red. He could hear the squad's shouts behind him but at the same time could not. He felt only one emotion in that single moment, and it was _rage_. How dare he. _How dare Kimizuki make him kill Chess._ Now Krul was even further from his grasp, out there beyond the fathomless black, in a void where he would never be able to find her. His family would be incomplete forever. It was all Kimizuki's fault. Kimizuki had taken that chance away from him. The selfish boy needed to _pay-_

"Mika! Stop it!" Yuu yelled, grabbing the blond from behind and dragging him off of Kimizuki. The pink haired boy gasped as air reentered his lungs, coughing and gasping for breath.

Mika screamed and tried to get at him again, but then Shinoa was tackling him from the front, and combine with Yuu in the back he was pulled off balance, pinned to the floor by his two comrades.

"Mika, you need to calm down right now!" Shinoa ordered, shoving the blunt end of her scythe against his neck. Mika's pupil's shrank when the weapon pressed against his throat, and he settled for glaring holes into the other girl, but she just frowned back at him.

Meanwhile, Yoichi and Mitsuba were helping Kimizuki back to his feet. The boy was still wheezing from his mouth, one hand to his own neck. The skin was badly bruised where Mika's fingers had crushed it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yoichi asked worriedly, patting him on the back.

"Just fine," Kimizuki rasped, coughing painfully. "Just get me away from that fucking vampire."

"Fuck you," Mika seethed, struggling against the arms that were keeping him down, but Shinoa's scythe kept him pinned. "You made me kill Chess. You god damned human…"

"Stop it," Shinoa snapped, grabbing Mika by the collar and dragging him up to his feet. She shoved him away from Kimizuki, guiding him with her scythe. "I won't have you fighting anyone in this squad. So back down. And _Kimizuki._ That was the most idiotic thing I've ever seen you do."

"Like I care," the boy growled, wiping the spittle from his mouth. "I've already told you I'll do whatever it takes to save my sister. That includes killing progenitors."

Mika made a guttural sound in his throat, but Shinoa put a hand to his chest to still him. Kimizuki grabbed his things and stalked out of the room, taking everything dear to him with him.

* * *

The time had come.

Krul couldn't precisely tell just how long she had been waiting for this moment. Time moved differently underground; there was no sun, no moon, no passing celestial body to mark its progression. She could have been waiting for days. Or it could have been weeks. There was no way to tell.

But there was one thing she knew for sure, and it was that she was ready to leave this damn cell behind once and for all.

Someone should be coming in with her prescribed serving of blood soon. She had noticed that the guards cycled in a certain order, and that she was always fed when certain people were on duty. It was her only way to tell when things were about to happen, and her only semblance of 'time.'

She was huddled against the corner of the cell with her blanket around her like a shawl once more, something she had fallen into the habit of doing. It gave her a quiet spot to thing, and it hid her from the sight of the guards.

Beneath her tiny alcove, Krul raised her hand and clenched it tightly into a fist. She could feel that she was much stronger than before now. Nowhere near full power, but it would have to do. She was running out of time. Attrition would not be an option once she broke out into the main city; a mad dash to freedom was her only chance, as a number of nobles were likely present in Tenebris-Lux as well, and she wouldn't survive a prolonged fight with them.

Not to mention that Lest Karr himself was also here, and that meant Ferid was most likely present as well.

As much as she would like to have their intestines for lunch, revenge would have to wait.

Love was more important.

Footsteps reached her ears from the end of the hall, and Krul closed her eyes to take a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Despite her endless experience, it was very possible she could die today.

The door to her cell was pushed open, and a young page wheeled in a cart stacked with blood packs.

"Set assignment for Lady Tepes," the vampire announced, entering the room fully.

"Yes, yes. We know," one of the guards said in a bored tone, stifling a yawn. Keeping on eye on Krul might be a top priority assignment, but the work itself was far from fulfilling. All the former queen did was sit in her little corner. "Just do what you have to do."

Ironic. Despite her current status, some of the vampires still referred to her as 'Lady Tepes.' It seemed that some still held some modicum of respect for her, although they obviously could not afford to express it outright. It touched her, in a way. Perhaps her rule hadn't been a complete disaster.

Privately, she resolved not to kill the young page if she could.

Through the blanket, she heard the sound of the cart being set against the wall. Her opportunity was coming. Inhaling deeply once more, she pressed herself tightly against the wall, coiling her tiny body into the smallest spring she could possibly muster.

Her leg muscles tightened, and inside she heard her heart begin to pump rapidly for the first time in five months, at least shaking off the dust that had accumulated on its arteries. A rush of power swept through her body, making her fingers tingle at the tips. She felt _alive._

"Say, child," the second guard grunted, "What's been going on above surface and in the other cities lately? I've been trapped down here for gods knows how long…"

"Lord Karr is mobilizing the southern battalion," the page answered, shifting through the blood packs. "They plan to move out within the next few days."

"Maybe we'll finally be able to rout those accursed humans," the guard muttered. He turned towards Krul with a sneer on his face. "Do you hear that, my _queen?_ Your taboo dabbling allies are going to be-"

 _Now._ Krul summoned all the force she could apply in one single movement and blasted horizontally off the wall, pushing as hard as she possible could. Her body flew forward from the wall at breakneck speed, so quickly that she felt the skin around her eyes peeling back from the drag.

Had she been on the planned diet, there was no way she would be able to break through the glass. But there was no wall of glass in the known universe that could hold back Krul at this moment.

She crashed into the glass wall and smashed straight through it, sending deadly shards pinwheeling across the entire room in a deadly spray. The guards shouted in shock and fell to the floor, hands raised above their heads.

Those hands would do nothing to stop her. She landed on top of the first guard, the one who had been mocking her, and tore his forearm off at the shoulder. The vampire screamed in agony, but before he could truly register the pain Krul sent her fist straight into his face, punching straight through the skull and leaving a bloody mess where his brain had once been.

The other guard's face paled, and he scrambled to his feet, running for his life towards the door. Yanking her now blood soaked fist out of the first guard's cranium, she dashed after him, flecks of red liquid flying through the air in her wake.

The second guard had just grabbed the door and pulled it open when Krul's blow decapitated him.

She stopped herself and stood still until she heard the vampire's body thump loosely to the ground. Then she turned and spat on his corpse.

 _That'll teach you to underestimate me._

Walking back to the now shattered glass wall, she grabbed the wheeled cart and tipped it over, spilling its contents across the floor. Then she promptly fell to the ground and began tearing into the packs of blood, at last feeding a hunger that had been quietly gnawing at her innards for an eternity.

The next few minutes passed in a haze; all she remembered was the frenzy that came with feeding that was long overdue. Her claws tore open pack after pack, and though most of it tasted foul, she didn't care. It was _blood._ The one thing she needed for survival.

The one thing she needed to see Mika again.

She fed until she had had her fill, which was a copious amount indeed. When she finally sat back from the pile of ruined blood packs her mouth was stained dark red, and the front of her clothes were similarly soiled. More blood was slowly oozing across the floor, as she had been less than delicate while eating.

Krul looked down at herself and smiled wryly. Some noble she was. She was a mess. What vampire would follow her in this wretched state? Perhaps she was never meant to remain queen.

But no; she didn't care about things like that anymore. Power, status, pride…they were the desires of the unenlightened. Not vampire or human, not queen or peasant. It was about doing what _she_ wanted.

Pulling herself to her feet, she grabbed a few extra packs and stuffed them in her pocket before turning towards the door.

Only then did she realize the page was still sitting by the corner, cowering in utter fear.

Krul stared at him for a while, then smiled gently. "Be at ease, young one. I am not going to kill you."

The look of terror didn't fade from the page's eyes, but his shaking seemed to subside a little.

"In fact…I'd like for you to deliver a message." She raised one thumb and jabbed herself in the chest with it. "Tell that bastard Ferid that I _never_ fail. I always get what I want. And that Lest can go and turn into a demon."

The page gaped at the message, then started nodding vigorously. Smiling in satisfaction, Krul was about to leave when he finally mustered the courage to call out to her.

"B-But, my queen! Where will you go?"

Krul stopped by the door, then smiled again.

"To my home, young one. To where I belong."

With that she slipped down the length of the hall, and was gone like a passing specter.

She actually didn't like most of the vampires she had ever met, but she would always think fondly of the young page who brought her blood.

* * *

The halls of the building she had been imprisoned in were long and winding, but at last she managed to find the way outside.

She emerged out into a wide courtyard, one that was thankfully completely empty. She cast about urgently, searching the tops of the buildings for one of the few things she remembered from her visits to Tenebris-Lux.

There; a cathedral with a white spire at the very edge of the city, just barely peeking into sight in the distance. That was the closest exit into the surface world. Once she was there her chances of survival were much greater.

Pitching forward, she began running at top speed in that direction, throwing any semblance of stealth to the wind. The chances of being discovered and killed were much too great. She quickly left the courtyard and penetrated the city beyond, turning into a small side street that would take her to her destination.

She passed a few vampires on the street, but most of them could barely register her face before she blew past them, leaving them more confused than suspicious. However, as she passed more and more passerby, at least one of them seemed to recognize her, and a panicked shout rose somewhere behind. The screams spread through the street, and soon everyone was shouting for the guards, while simultaneously trying to get the hell out of her way. They knew they stood no chance against her.

Trying to escape the common people, she turned the next corner, only to find her path blocked by four more guards.

"Stop!" one of them roared, drawing his weapon and standing firm.

Krul showed her teeth, irked at the interference. It was much too soon for this. She was too far from the cathedral. Rather than slowing down, she picked up her speed instead, closing in on the guards before they could react.

She blew through the one in the middle with the force of a cannon, obliterating his body before leaping into the next street and hightailing it, pushing anyone who stood in her path out of the way.

A heavy orange glow emanated from her left, and she turned to see a thick river of molten lava carving through the city alongside her, the one Tenebris-Lux was mainly famous for. It cut its way between the streets like a canal, though instead of water it contained molten lava, and falling in would mean death, even for her. Still, it seemed to lead directly to the cathedral, so she chose to follow it.

By now it had become apparent that the entire city was alerted to the news of her escape. People were fleeing from the streets and into their homes, or any open building that happened to be nearby; window were being slammed shut as she ran past them, and everything was dead quiet except for the sound of her feet striking the cobblestone street.

Despite all the public scorn she had suffered since her dethronement, it appeared the citizens still feared her power. Just as well. Less distractions to deal with.

More guards flocked in front of her to apprehend her, but she dealt with them in much the same way she had before, by simply barreling through them all. Soon the local militia seemed to give up on stopping her, and the street was left wide open for her to run through it.

A savage smile graced Krul's throat as she ran, topping speeds of nearly seventy miles per hour, her teeth bloodied from when she had torn open a guard's throat earlier. Yes! This was the creature she was meant to be! Powerful, unstoppable, given free reign over her own life. Not tied down to rot in a cell. Lest had grossly underestimated her.

Soon enough she turned a corner and saw the facade of the cathedral. It was a large, looming structure, painted almost entirely white, which was unusual in a vampiric city. The river of molten lava actually fed directly into the building's base, where it disappeared inside of a wide gate. Doors were positioned at either side around the gate, and Krul didn't bother checking her momentum; she smashed through the door on the right and reduced it to splinters, skidding to a stop inside the room beyond.

There was an ornate altar set up at the far wall, with dozens of candles burning around it to illuminate an otherwise dark room. A priest who had been praying there turned around, startled, as Krul slowly stood up before him.

Krul briefly considered killing him as well, but decided against it. No need for unnecessary bloodshed. Instead she merely nodded to him before heading for the stairs; the priest nodded confusedly back, not entirely sure how to respond, until the former queen was out of sight.

Once she had found the stairs she began leaping her way up, wasting no time. No doubt every noble vampire in Tenebris-Lux was abut to descend upon this very location. For her own sake, and the sake of that lonely priest on the first floor, she should make her exit swift. The exit to the surface world lay at the highest floor. She was close.

The cathedral was empty as she flew through it; that single priest truly had been lonely. Somber looking paintings stared at her from the walls as she made her way past them, ugly things that she had never really taken a liking too. Vampiric art was always filled with negative images, despite them being the greatest race to walk the land.

Perhaps power came with its own brand of despair.

Krul's shoes clicked coldly against the marble floor as she alighted upon a balcony on the highest floor, the sound echoing emptily through the rest of the cathedral. Before her stood the door that led into a chamber which housed to surface world exit. She was at the cusp of freedom. She was a mess, bloodied, scratched, bruised and starved, but she was here now. And that was all that mattered.

Grabbing the door knob, she threw the door aside and entered the chamber.

And standing there before the stairs was the last vampire in the world Krul would have wanted to see.

"My my, Krul," Lest Karr sighed, tapping his cane against the marble. "Quiet a predicament you've put me in here."

Krul frowned and bared her fangs, letting the door fall shut behind her. "Lest."

"You didn't really think we were going to just let you go, did you?" the lord chuckled, shrugging playfully. "I realized I was the only vampire present in the city capable of defeating you, and headed for the one place I knew you would have no choice but to go to."

The former queen exhaled through her nose, looking off to the side. "And Ferid? Where is your lapdog?"

Lest smiled, a single fang poking out. "As useful as he has been to me, he could not hold his own in a fight with you. His power has limits, unfortunately."

 _Yes, how unfortunate indeed,_ Krul thought dryly, narrowing her eyes at the king.

Lest yawned and leaned against his cane, taking his top hat off his head. "Come now, Krul. The line ends here. Go back into your cell before I make you."

"Step aside, Lest," Krul snarled, settling into an offensive stance. "I'll kill you if I have to."

Lest's eyes flashed. "Is that so? And what makes you think you can even win this fight?"

"Because I have more to lose," Krul growled.

Lest just raised an eyebrow. "I find that hard to believe. I have two empires in my grasp, you know. One here and another back home in Germany. I have youth, and something I must achieve."

 _And I have someone I care about_ , Krul thought to herself, readying for another fight.

Lest sighed again when Krul refused to respond, taking his weight off his cane. "Very well. If you will not listen, I might have to communicate through force."

He set his top hat on his cane and tossed them both aside, then unbuttoned his coat and got rid of that too. Then he crouched down and showed his fangs, standing between Krul and the stairs that led to the surface.

"Come, my queen," he said. "Let us settle our differences once and for all!"

Krul narrowed her eyes at the young upstart, then blasted straight towards him.

Lest met her halfway, and for the first time Krul entered a fight she didn't know if she could win.

Since there had historically been a severe lack of progenitors as powerful as Krul or Lest, there had been very few recorded instances of fights between progenitors higher than the fifth level. It simply was not wise, to fight another so powerful, not to mention difficult to arrange. As a result, Krul didn't have much to go on. There had only been three documented struggles between second progenitors in vampiric history.

Though her memory was failing her at the moment, she did remember that in all three instances, the younger combatant had won.

There first interaction was hectic and deadly; they crashed into each other and began trading a flurry of powerful blows, each strike strong enough to take the other's head off. There was no question that they both possessed the power to kill the other; it was merely a question of who would fail to dodge first. Their hands were barely blurs as they swept through the air, moving so quickly a mere human would have failed to comprehend it.

They broke apart a few moments later, landing several feet from each other. Lest made sure to land in front of the stairs again, carefully blocking Krul's path to escape.

"What ails you, my queen?" he jeered, showing his teeth. "You looked tired."

Krul snarled back, even if she knew the king was right. She had spent some energy just to run all the way here. She wasn't exactly in top shape either.

"How about this. I'll increase your diet to one pack every eighty hours if you surrender peacefully," Lest offered, holding his hands out in front of him.

"Like hell," Krul snapped, and they came together once more.

Her body went into survival mode as they continued to attack each other, the song of her heart singing high in her ears. She was barely thinking, just reacting, as there was absolutely no room for error when it came to Lest Karr. As much as she hated the boy, she had to admit he was probably stronger than her. As long as this remained a head on confrontation, she was going to lose.

Time to put her experience to the test, then.

Dodging a punch that nearly took her head off, she swept in a tight circle and faked a blow at Lest's head, only to duck down and jab at his gut instead.

Lest read the fake easily, of course, but Krul had been counting on him to do so. At the last moment she curled her fingers back until only her pinky was sticking out, heading straight for the king's stomach.

Then Lest's hand came down and seized that finger, snapping it back until it tore off completely.

Now this was the crucial moment; she had purposefully made a poor move to create an opening, banking on Lest's assumption that she would be employing the most advanced tactics she knew. Instead of sacrificing her entire hand, however, she had managed to mitigate the damage to just her pinky finger.

This was the important part. It was common knowledge that vampires rarely felt physical pain if they had the presence of mind to ignore it. Losing a limb was merely a minor inconvenience to them.

Lest would not be expecting her to react to the loss of her pinky, then.

Yanking her hand free of Lest's grasp, she doubled over and pretended to scream in agony, doubling over at the waist.

Grinning savagely, Lest spun in the air and aimed a kick straight at Krul's chest, intending to crush her heart.

Before he could, however, Krul's other hand shot up, grabbing the young king around his ankle.

Lest's eyes went wide, and Krul lifted her head to reveal the murderous look on her face.

"You're still two hundred years too young to be squabbling with me, child," she snarled.

With that she tore off Lest's leg at the waist while he was still in the air, tossing the limb somewhere behind her. Then she grabbed him by the neck and reared back, throwing her entire body weight forward before throwing him clean through the wall behind them.

The second progenitor crashed through the wall and fell down all ten stories to the bottom, and a few moments later Krul heard his body thumb against the unforgiving marble floor below.

She stood there for a bit, breathing heavily, reveling in her victory. That would teach the young upstart a lesson or two.

Her victory was short lived, however, as almost immediately afterwards she heard the front doors of the cathedral being kicked down.

There was a storm of footsteps as what sounded like an entire battalion flooded into the building. Vampires began shouting once they discovered Lest, probably lying crippling on the ground and missing a leg.

"Kill her!" Lest's voice rang from the bottom floor, laced with fury. "Tear the meat from her bones!"

 _Good luck with that,_ she thought darkly, turning and running from the stairs, knowing the army would be on the tenth floor in no time.

She leapt all the way to the top of the staircase, and once she landed literally hundreds of vampires began pouring into the chamber.

"Shit," she muttered, then turned and dove into the tunnel that led to the surface, hearing the sounds of countless footsteps thundering after her.

It was ironic. She remembered a moment some years ago where their positions had been reversed. She had been the one watching as Hyakuya Yuuichiro fled from Sanguinem, as Mikaela tried desperately to follow him. Was this how Yuuichiro had felt in this moment? Scared, alone, but exhilarated at the prospect of freedom?

Soon the tunnel devolved into dirt, leveling up to reach ever closer to the surface. There were wooden frames set up against the walls and ceiling around her, intended to keep the earth was collapsing around the tunnel's users.

She began smashing the wooden supports as she passed them, destroying as many as she could.

The footsteps were deafening behind her. They weren't gaining on her, but it would be difficult to shake them once she reached the surface. She kept smashing support columns, and could feel the earth growing looser around her.

At last the tunnel took a sharp turn, and once Krul completed it she saw the literal light at the end of the tunnel. The footsteps of her pursuers were like the guttural roar of a dragon now; there must be a thousand soldiers on her tail.

They were all going to meet an unfortunate end.

Reaching down to smash one final column, Krul leapt in the air and came down with earthquake level force, sending shockwaves rippling through the entire tunnel from her point of impact.

It started slowly; first little spews of dust falling from the ceiling, then rocks falling out of the walls, then the entire tunnel collapsing on top of her own head, as the earth screamed and turned in on itself. She ran as fast as she could, pushing herself to outrun the rapid pace at which the tunnel was turning into a massive sinkhole. She heard the soldiers screaming in fear behind her as they were eaten by the ground, crushed beneath thousands of tons of rubble.

The light was so close now. She could almost taste it, feel it in her pores, and for the first time in her life she was looking forward to seeing the sun…

With one final leap she left the tunnel to greet the fresh surface air, and at last Krul Tepes was free.

She landed several feet from the entrance of the tunnel, as behind her the ground sank into a massive hole as wide as a building, a great plume of dust rising up from the hole and coughing upward, like the earth itself was sick.

Krul turned to admire her handiwork. She clapped the dust off her hands, wearing a pleased smile. That should stall them for a good while. It would give her enough time to escape, at least.

She knew that Lest would pursue her to the ends of the earth now, though. The boy was too petty to let something like this go. She would have literal armies on her tail soon.

Turning away from the rubble, the queen observed her surroundings. She was in the middle of a rocky, mountainous area, most likely near a small chain of volcanoes. It would explain the nature of Tenebris-Lux, at least. Thin, straggly trees were growing on the slope around her, and the sky was a colorless gray.

Closing her eyes, Krul took another deep breath, and when she opened them they were filled with determination.

Her escape was now complete. It was time to find Mika.

 _Just wait for me a little longer. Please,_ she thought, as she began descending down the face of the mountain.

Halfway down, she shivered as the wind swept through her.

Winter was coming.

* * *

A/N

This chapter was more about Krul and Mika, since their plotlines needed some more progression. I rarely have more than two plotlines going at the same time; now I have like four, so the experience is rather new to me.

Also, what do you guys think about the quotes I put at the top of each chapter? I'd like the keep them, but I would like your opinions as well.

Tell me what you think, and thanks for reading!

~Banshee

* * *

Reviewer Responses

Eramis8: Krul's a baller. No question.

Annabeth-Cyone: I usually don't deal in character deaths, but I thought killing off Chess and Horn worked pretty well. I'm sorry if you liked them, haha.

Dlkg: Had to use google translate on your review, I'll admit, but I'm glad you like the story! Don't worry about posting in whatever language is more comfortable for you.

IarIz: I actually knew the pills are supposed to take about ten seconds to manifest, but I...took some creative liberties there.

* * *

Also, a quick happy birthday for Mika!


	6. Perchance to Dream

"While there have been several conceptual stories on the topic in the past, it is rather doubtful that a successful vampire and human couple has ever existed in the history of our two races. Primarily because vampires view humans primarily as prey, and secondarily because most humans do not enjoy the idea of being bitten by someone.

And there is, of course, the speciation issue. Vampires and humans are biologically incapable of producing viable offspring despite their anatomical similarities, meaning that they are truly separate species. This does not rule out the possibility of a common ancestor, of course, though it is obviously impossible to determine where the divergence begins.

Despite the inherent incompatibility of our two species, however, there have been many documented interactions between humans and vampires that have _not_ ended in some form of blood shed. Some humans have even admitted to enjoying conversations with vampires, due to the differences in perspective. The possibility exists that if hunger was removed from the equation, our two races may find more common ground than the need for food.

Even if a vampire and a human were able to build a strong enough relationship to avoid killing each other, however, the production of a child is still out of the equation. As a mother myself, I would find it depressing to have a significant other I couldn't build a family with. A relative lack of sexual compatibility further reduces the likelihood of a vampire and a human falling truly in love.

If, however, these obstacles may be overcome, we may have something truly unique on our hands. A relationship built not with the intention of sexual benefit, familial benefit, or monetary or societal benefit. One built entirely for the sake of the other. Neither one would benefit from knowing the other, but that just might be the purest form of love."

-blogger Shizuki Kanade, on the topic of vampiric and human romances

* * *

Chapter 6: Perchance to Dream

There was a quiet, empty road sitting just south of the entrance to Sanguinem, lonely and cold without a single soul in sight. The air above the faded asphalt was almost disturbingly silent, not that anyone knew that, sort of like that metaphor about falling trees making no sound.

No, scratch that; not so quiet anymore. A faint buzzing sound floated in from the far end of the street, though its source was not yet visible. It was a thin rattling noise, the sound of a chain making many revolutions.

Finally, under the light of the morning sun, Krul Tepes appeared at the end of the lonely street.

It was just barely past five in the morning, and the sky was not yet colored the baby blue it was stereotypically envisioned as being; it was more of a passive aggressive gray, and the wind was as crisp as it had ever been against Krul's face, making her shiver in her faded hoodie.

Yes, a hoodie. Her noble's robes had been in less than prime shape after her messy escape from Tenebris-Lux, and had regrettably been forced to abandon them. The expensive silk clothes had been ripped and shredded in various places, especially the long sleeves that hung from her arms, mostly thanks to Lest narrowly missing her during their fight. Even after having his leg torn off the kid was still annoying her.

After climbing down the face of the mountain, she had happened across a small roadside town and headed into the first house she could find. The entire area seemed rather abandoned, so she allowed herself to relax as she searched freely throughout the home, rooting through the closets for something that might fit her.

Eventually she found a faded gray hoodie and some track pants in a box in someone's closet, in a room that presumably belonged to a child, if the broken dolls strewn across the floor were of any indication.

Shrugging off her ruined robes, she stepped out of them and stood naked in the room. Then she reached down and pulled the children's clothes onto her body, somewhat miffed to find that they fit pretty well. She might be a thousand years old, but her proportions still suggested otherwise.

Still, she found it somewhat ironic that a hoodie that had once kept a small child warm was now doing the same for a third progenitor.

When she left the house she noticed a small bike left on the ground outside, and had walked over to pick it up. She knew what bikes were, of course, having been to the surface world many different times, but had never found it necessary to ride on herself. But there were no working motor vehicles around, and running all the way to Sanguinem was going to cost her precious energy.

Holding the bike upright, she swung one leg over it and started pedaling.

She wobbled and bit at first, but eventually got the hang of it, and soon enough she was zooming down the streets of the roadside town at about fifty miles per hour, her legs a blur as they whirled around the pedals. She probably could have pushed herself to go even faster, but reminded herself that this bicycle had been made for human use, and would probably break into several pieces if she went too fast.

So that explained the faint buzzing sound, which was the noise of the bicycle's chain as she rode in the direction of the north star.

In retrospect, Krul thought she probably could have passed as an ordinal human child with her current appearance. A baggy hoodie, track pants, and a hood pulled over her pointed ears and wildly colored hair, head held low to hide her bloodied eyes. If another human saw her riding by at this moment, would they think anything of it?

Well, they probably still would. She was assuming most humans couldn't top fifty miles per hour on a bike.

She passed the carcass of a dead wolf at some point, but thought better of it. She wasn't at the point of feeding on nonhuman blood yet.

Except that was over two days ago, and now Krul was beginning to think that maybe she should have slashed her pride and sunk her teeth into that wolf carcass after all. She had long since drained the last of her spare blood packs, and those things tasted like ash anyways.

She was still a long way from the level of starvation she had experienced during captivity, of course, but hell if she was going to let herself fall that low again.

Krul was hungry.

A heavy morning fog was creeping down the length of the street towards her, and she opened her mouth as she rode into it, trying to taste the vaporized water with her tongue. It did little to sate her thirst, however, since vampires had no need for water. Blood was everything to them.

The fog was low and thick, billowing around Krul's bike as she split through it down the middle. She could barely see more than thirty yards ahead of her, and the buildings on either side looked like the silhouettes of looming giants. It felt like she was crossing the bridge from one world to another, and she allowed herself to close her eyes for a moment, indulging in a brief dream of tomorrow.

Then her nose picked up the scent of blood, and she snapped back to her senses.

She fingers seized the handbrakes so hard that one of them actually snapped in half, the bike's tires coming to a squealing stop on the asphalt. Tire tracks smoldered silently on the road behind her as Krul raised her nose, sniffing the air to be sure of what she had thought she smelled.

Yes, it was there; somewhat masked by the wetness of the fog, which was why she hadn't noticed it sooner. But it was definitely there.

The scent of blood.

That meant humans.

Turning the handles of her bike, Krul pedaled quietly off to the side of the road, leaving it leaning against a streetlamp. Stealth would be absolutely necessary if she was really going to do this, and the rattling of the chain would give her away.

Leaving the old bicycle where it was, Krul ducked into a nearby alleyway between the rows of buildings.

She trusted her nose to lead her where she needed to be, taking care to keep her footsteps as light as possible. At least she wouldn't have to worry about being seen; the fog was so thick that even she was having difficulty seeing through it, and humans would be nearly blind in it. Krul wove through the winding alleyways as swiftly as she could, zeroing in on the scent of hot, running blood.

After a minute or two she turned a corner, and they were there.

A small human convoy, parked in the middle of an intersection of two roads, the vehicles arranged so that they formed a makeshift wall between the soldiers and the outside world. About a dozen men and women were sitting on crates in the dense fog, huddled together as they made muted conversation, chewing absently on their meals. It appeared that they had stopped for breakfast, or perhaps were just waking up.

Krul wanted to roll her eyes at their carelessness, but then reminded herself that she was awfully close to Sanguinem now, and Sanguinem was human territory. No one would be expecting any lone vampires to be wandering around this area. At least she had that part going for her.

Reaching up, she tugged her hood more tightly around her face, as her eyes peered at the convoy from within the depths of an alleyway. Should she try to take the soldiers by surprise? If she rushed in now she could probably kill all of them easily, but it would cause a commotion. And she knew by now that humans always travelled in huge packs. They were like ants. If you found one there were probably a thousand more hiding in the walls.

Deciding it would be best to bide her time, Krul ran up behind a large dumpster before listening in on the soldiers.

"I don't see the point of doing all these goddamn patrols," a male voice complained, before her paused to take a bite out of his food. "Bloodsuckers are scared shitless by the Seraph. They won't be coming around here anytime soon."

"You never know," a second voice pointed out, a woman's. "You know the vampires always have something up their sleeve. It's better to keep on the alert. Besides, the Seraph doesn't exactly make me feel safe."

"What, you saying you're scared of it?"

"Shouldn't I be? Fucking thing is literally a chained angel. An angel that _we_ chained. If it ever manages to break free, even for a second, we're all screwed. Hell, I'd be pissed about it too."

"Angels in the sky, vampires at our necks, demons in our swords…I'm telling you, whole world's gone to shit. I remember when I was a boy and my only problem was having enough money to buy fucking school lunch." the male soldier paused for another bite. "Back then loving someone didn't mean the same thing as protecting them. They would be fine whether you did something or not. Nowadays if you're gonna love someone you've gotta be prepared to fight like hell for them."

"You sound like an old man," said a third voice, a younger male.

"That's fine with me. It's the young who die in wars."

"Like those kids who are on the run out there somewhere?"

"We aren't supposed to talk about them," the woman cut in, sounding nervous.

"Fuck off, Shiina. Who cares what we talk about? We're just lowly foot soldiers, aren't we? Besides, those kids are probably dead in a ditch somewhere by now. It isn't exactly easy to survive out there."

The woman growled. "If they were dead for sure, why aren't we allowed to talk about it? The JIDA doesn't give a shit about dead soldiers. Once you're dead you're done. I think those kids are still alive."

There was a moment of silence as the three soldiers contemplated this, before the first male cleared his throat.

"Whatever. Either way, it's not my problem. I'm gonna go take a piss."

"Have fun."

"I will."

Krul's ears twitched when she heard the soldier getting up and walking away from the centre of the circle, walking past its protection and out onto the open street. Breaking away from the dumpster, she stalked her way back through the alleys, keeping pace with him from a distance.

Eventually the soldier started walking along the sidewalk, and Krul followed him carefully, placing herself at the very lip of an alley ahead of her prey's footsteps. It reminded her somewhat over the old days, the _very_ old days, when vampires had yet to form a society and actually had to hunt for themselves. Though this wasn't exactly like that. This time her prey didn't know it was being hunted.

The soldier's footsteps grew steadily closer, and Krul waited patiently, extending her claws.

Then his boot appeared around the edge of the alleyway and she pounced, sinking her fingers into the man's throat and clapping the other over his mouth before dragging him deep into the alleyway.

The soldier's screams were muffled against Krul's palm, but he still thrashed around like a madman, kicking his legs around in a desperate attempt to fight for his life. Krul plunged her teeth into his neck and bit down as hard as she could, pinning his body to the ground to keep him still.

A moment later she heard his neck break, and the soldier's body went limp in her hands, a shaky death rattle escaping through his lips.

Letting out a tired breath of her own, she began to feed. The body would get cold quickly, especially in this weather. She had to eat fast.

However, after a few minutes of feeding she heard a whisper of breath above her ear, and was incredulous to find that the soldier was still conscious.

His eyes were glazed over and broken, but he was certainly aware of his surroundings. He offered no further resistance to Krul, however, and the noble shrugged before going back to feeding. If the man had lost his will to live, it only made things that much easier for her.

The soldier's neck bones crunched against each other as he drew in one last breath, and then he asked, "Would you do this to me if I was a vampire?"

Krul paused in the middle of her meal, then raised her head to look down at him, wiping at the corner of her mouth.

"This isn't about humans or vampires. It about surviving. It's about who I love and who I don't."

As she resumed feeding, the soldier laughed dryly and let his head fall back to the ground.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

 _No._

* * *

Meanwhile, about an equal amount of distance from the borders of Sanguinem, but in the completely opposite direction, Shinoa's squad was taking shelter from a heavy thunderstorm.

It was some hours later, and the heavy fog that had dominated that morning was soon ousted by the torrential downpour that followed immediately afterwards, catching them when they were still out in the open. They had run inside the nearest open building they could find, but they were still out in it long enough to get soaked from head to toe.

So now here they were, inside the empty husk of what had once been a supermarket, their wet clothes hanging from an old clothes rack they had dragged out from the clothing section. Small drops of water were dripping off the fabric and forming a puddle on the ground, and Shinoa watched those drops send ripples across the surface of the puddle, listening to the sound of the rain pounding against the glass windows behind her.

It really was coming down out there. The roads, with their ruined sewage systems, were slowly starting to flood in the downpour. They might have to leave soon, or else wake up the next morning and find themselves stuck on an artificial island, fenced off from the rest of the world.

Speaking of isolation, Shinoa turned her head to look at two of her current least favorite squad members.

Kimizuki was sitting a ways off, facing pointedly towards a shelf of canned tuna that he apparently found very interesting. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was jutting out his lower lip, trying to make it as obvious as humanly possible that he was mad about something.

Mika, meanwhile, was doing the same exact thing, though in his case he was facing a shelf stacked high with dried pickles, most of which were probably expired by now. Shinoa would admit to liking tuna a bit more than dried pickles, but that wasn't the main issue here. The main issue was that these two boys hadn't so much as a word to each other in two days.

It had been almost unbearably tense after Kimizuki had forced Mika to kill Chess. Deciding it was best to stay moving instead of standing around to stew, Shinoa had everyone gather their things and file out of the building, stepping out into the shallow lake that waited outside.

It had been stone silent as they waded their way to the other side of the sinkhole, not a single word passing between the two boys. Even Mitsuba, with her hotheaded streak, chose to keep her mouth closed, and Yuu simply darted his eyes nervously at everyone, not happy with the idea that his friends were infighting.

Shinoa hadn't been very surprised by that part, and if anything she expected them both to get over it in a day or two. Was Kimizuki's decision rash and uncalled for? Could it even be called extreme? Yes, absolutely; but Mika's line of thinking had been equally extreme. They didn't have the time to torture Chess until she broke. They were running against a clock here; they had to reach Sanguinem before Guren fell even deeper into hell, or worse, the JIDA used the Seraph again.

She had known from the very beginning that one way or another, Chess would have to die. But she would have preferred to do it with a bit more finesse.

Regardless the boys refused to talk to each other no matter what, even going so far as to eat at separate times of the day, or chew on their food while facing away from each other. Shinoa might have let it slide if they were a bit more subtle about their quarrel, but at this rate it was starting to affect the rest of the squad as well. Yoichi was terrified of Kimizuki's temper while simultaneously trying to be there for him, and Yuu was antsy all the time, which had the unfortunate secondary effect of stressing _her_ out, since talking to Yuu had become one of her few stress relievers. But an antsy Yuu was not a talkative Yuu.

Both boys were failing to see the bigger picture, and it was starting to seriously get on Shinoa's nerves.

"When are you going to beat some sense into them?" Mitsuba asked, from her seat beside Shinoa. She had her damp hair out of its usual pigtails, and was squeezing it to get rid of any excess water.

Shinoa just exhaled through her nose, twirling her miniature scythe in one hand. "I don't know. But I'll think of something."

"You'd better. Otherwise I might end up breaking out my hammer for the job."

Not how Shinoa would have put it herself, but she understood what the blonde meant.

"Hey, meatheads," Mitsuba called over to the two boys, who were still busy pretending the other didn't exist. "How long are you two going to mope around like this?"

"Until he begs for forgiveness," Mika said lowly, glaring at the dried pickles.

"Until he admits he was wasting time," Kimizuki grunted, tapping his foot agitatedly as he observed the tuna.

" _Excuse me_ , but Krul is the opposite of a waste of time. I would much rather have her here right now than your impatient behind."

"That's great, Mika. Just great. As long as it means I'm far away from you I'm happy."

"Don't call me Mika."

"I'll call you whatever I-"

"Alright, that's enough," Shinoa cut in tiredly, levying as much of her leadership authority into her tone as she could. The boys didn't stop grumbling, but they at least stopped grumbling at each other, turning back to their respective food shelves.

The sergeant sighed, rubbing at her eyelids. They didn't have time for petty fights like this. They were about two days out from Sanguinem already. Forty eight more hours and they were going to enter what was probably the most dangerous mission of their lives. She couldn't afford to let this squad get more dysfunctional than it was already.

Just then two pairs of footsteps approached, and Yuu appeared from behind the rows of shelves, Yoichi tagging close behind.

"We managed to find some useable umbrellas," Yuu said, holding a small stack of them in his arms. He slowly approached Shinoa, who stood up to meet him.

"Alright, great. Good work. Thanks, Yuu," she said, taking the umbrellas from the boy. He just winked back at her, tugging a small smile to her face, somewhat against her will.

"We're going out? Into that storm?" Kimizuki asked skeptically, eyeing the sheets of water raining down from the sky. "And with only three umbrellas?"

Shinoa counted and found that the boy was right, but shot him a disapproving look regardless. "This from the guy who was so impatient to move that he killed a progenitor?"

The boy went red in the face but said nothing in response, as he damn well shouldn't have, instead walking off to grab his things. Shinoa saw Mika smirk slightly at the exchange, but it didn't make her feel good at all. She didn't want her friends feeding off each other's mistakes.

"We can pair off," Yoichi suggested, always the negotiator.

"Yes, good idea. I was thinking the same," Shinoa murmured, scanning the group of people assembled before her. They were all a little damp still, and holding wet clothes, but she wasn't too concerned about that. She was more concerned about what lay inside.

Well, it looked like there was a little room for manipulation here.

"Yuu will pair with me," she began, tossing an umbrella to Yuu, who caught it with one hand. "Yoichi, you can pair with Mitsuba." She tossed a second umbrella that Yoichi seemed to catch, but ended up dropping a moment later. Mitsuba just rolled her eyes.

The remaining two members of the squad were shifting nervously in place, and it was apparent from their body language that they had realized what was going on.

"Kimizuki," Shinoa said slowly, holding out the last umbrella, "You'll be pairing with Mika."

"Like hell I am," the boy growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'd rather walk out under the rain."

Shinoa just shrugged, uncaring. "That's tough. You can do that if you want, but don't blame me when you catch a cold. Either pair with Mika or contract pneumonia. It's your choice."

With that she tossed the umbrella in his general direction, the pink haired boy just barely managing to catch it. Then she walked away haughtily, to where Yuu was popping open his own umbrella.

The two boys exchanged a brief, glowering glance, not at all happy with the way the situation had turned out.

"You're holding it," Mika grunted, walking past Kimizuki towards the door.

"Good," he snorted, walking after him. "You'd probably hog it anyway."

* * *

The supermarket was across the street from a small park that wound its way through the heart of the district, a rectangular zone of trees and tame wildlife that separated the earth from the concrete. It might have been neatly trimmed and contained in the past, but now it was thick and overgrown, the lush grasses spilling out onto the sidewalk, and the long branches of trees drooping down, dripping with the rain.

They walked through the front gate of this park and began walking down the stone path that cut through the middle of it, hoping to use the trees as some additional cover from the rain. A good idea at first, but later it turned out the leaves were just helping to pour the rain on top of their umbrellas, but it was raining so hard that it hardly mattered.

Shinoa walked some yards behind Kimizuki and Mika, who were in the lead. She wanted to keep an eye on them for a while, to make sure they didn't strangle each other while she wasn't looking. She could trust Mitsuba and Yoichi to watch their backs in the meantime.

It was so stupid. It was so petty. She wasn't saying she didn't understand why the boys were angry. That part was obvious to her. But the extent of their anger was unjustified. At least they still had people left to fight for. Someone left to yearn for. There was still some hope there, some mathematical chance of seeing them happy and warm and alive again. Shinoa didn't have that blessing. Her loved one was long dead. Her mathematical chance was zero.

Yuu was holding the umbrella between them, seeing as he was taller. His usually vibrant free eyes seemed sad and faded as they watched the two boys walking ahead, his grip tight on the handle of the umbrella.

Seeing Yuu so worried about it made Shinoa doubly more irritated at Kimizuki and Mika for their antics.

"So where are we headed, exactly?" Yuu asked softly, catching her off guard.

Shinoa blinked, turning her head slightly. "There's a small manor built by the Hiiragi family about a day's walk from Sanguinem that should be empty. We can take refuge there until we're ready to strike."

Yuu whistled lowly, picturing a Hiiragi manor in his head. "So I finally get to know the perks of being friends with a Hiiragi?"

The sergeant laughed, elbowing him in the side. "Yes, I suppose. I doubt you've benefited much from knowing me otherwise."

The swordsman just sighed, twirling the umbrella around in his fingers, sending a small shower of drops flicking around them. "You know, as hard as you can be on other people, you're even harder on yourself."

"Mmm." Shinoa folded her hands behind her as they walked, their footsteps matching each other. "That's because most people have plenty of bad qualities for me to pick on. Unfortunately, so do I."

"Like what?"

She thought about that for a while, staring down at her boots. "I'm…not very good at empathy. I don't take to others very well."

"But is that really your fault?"

 _Does it really matter whose fault it is?_ she thought to herself, but didn't say it out loud. Instead she began humming a tune from her childhood under her breath, and Yuu settled for listening, tapping his finger absentmindedly along.

The trees had grown thicker since they entered the park, and almost fenced them in on both sides. Shinoa could hardly see the actual road from this point, and for a moment she could imagine they were walking through a dense forest, with two idiot boys in the lead.

"What are you thinking about?" Yuu asked, bumping her with his shoulder.

Shinoa shook her head, fiddling with the hems of her jacket. "I was just thinking that they both do such stupid things. For the people they care about."

Yuu smiled fondly at that. "Well, it's what keeps them going. Sometimes that desire is all a person needs."

The sergeant stared after her two subordinates walking ahead of them, the hard lines of their shoulders. "Must be nice."

The swordsman bit his lip, seeming to remember that Shinoa didn't have the same desires as the rest of the squad.

"So what keeps you going?" he asked.

Shinoa found herself smiling wryly at the question. "I don't know. Maybe I just want to see you guys succeed where I failed."

Yuu sighed. "Leave it to you to say something both super nice and super cynical at the same time."

"It's better than lying," Shinoa shrugged. "I'm not much of a dreamer. And whenever I do dream, it turns into a nightmare. So I'd rather be realistic. I'm not saying people shouldn't dream. I know you're a dreamer. And that's fine. But it's not me."

A deep peal of thunder rolled across the sky, as if in agreement.

Yuu cast an irritated glance at the clouds before speaking. "Aren't dreams nice, though? I think it's better to have a dream than nothing at all. Something to fight for."

They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Shinoa said anything.

"Then what do you dream about, Yuu?"

He thought about that. He thought about it for a long time, until Shinoa assumed he simply wasn't going to say anything, like maybe his aspirations couldn't be encapsulated by mere words. It was a nice metaphor, but a bit unfitting coming from him.

"I dream about my family being in one place together," he said at last. "I dream about separating good from evil forever. And…I dream about the way the world used to be."

"You mean before the virus?" Shinoa asked, surprised. She hadn't expected that.

Yuu hummed in confirmation. "I was still just a kid when it happened, but I was old enough to remember how things used to be. People dared to dream back then. I get that it isn't easy anymore. Most dreams die, the way the world is today."

At least they agreed on that front. Dreams were a luxury for a society not wallowing in its own ruins. A society that was not theirs.

"I used to walk through places like this, when I was younger," Yuu said suddenly, gesturing towards the overgrown park around them. "Places just like this, or anywhere that I couldn't see a crumbling building or a cratered street. I would walk through them and pretend."

"Pretend?"

"That things had never changed." He paused, as if to remember. "That I'd never had to leave the orphanage. That the virus never happened. That no one had ever died."

Shinoa smirked softly, watching her shoes walking across the stone path beside Yuu's, thinking that her steps seemed so much smaller than his.

"That's surprisingly wishful thinking, even for you."

She said that, but it wasn't as if she had never had those thoughts herself, during darker days. The day they buried Mahiru, she had sat in front of her sister's grave and dreamed literal days away. She had fantasized about a world where Mahiru was alive and the rest of the Hiiragi family was dead. She had wished for it with all her heart, but death was the endgame. It didn't matter how much she wanted it.

"So, are you pretending right now?" Shinoa asked softly.

Yuu smiled and twirled the umbrella again. "Maybe."

"What would you even dream about in a situation like this?"

The swordsman laughed quietly to himself. "I don't know. Maybe that the two of us are on a date?"

Shinoa snorted instinctively, before she could allow herself to feel embarrassed. "A date outside in the middle of a thunderstorm? Some boyfriend you'd be."

Yuu just pouted, looking away from her. "I mean, we could pretend that it isn't raining."

"Which is why my shirt feels damp and you're holding an umbrella."

"Maybe it's hot and you're sweating, and this is a parasol, not an umbrella."

Shinoa laughed, swatting Yuu on the shoulder for his annoying creativity. She could admit the boy painted a convincing picture. Maybe if her imagination were strong enough, she could see what he saw. But her mind was just too rooted in reality.

"Tell you what," Yuu said, a playful glint in his eye. "One day, when it's not raining, I'll take you out on a date. And it'll be the best day of your life. But only so I can prove you wrong."

"And what if I don't want to go?"

"Come on, don't be like that. Guren can come too."

"You would make him third wheel with us?"

"How do you know? Maybe _you'll_ be the one third wheeling."

"Pssh."

It was raining and cold and windy, but somehow in that moment Shinoa didn't mind it, or maybe like Yuu she was able to pretend that the weather wasn't really so bad. As long as she focused on the boy next to her it felt like it didn't matter whether it was raining or hailing or raining fire. Was this the way he saw things?

Yuu's grip on the umbrella had loosened somewhat during their conversation, and the protective shell over their heads started to tilt towards the boy's side, exposing Shinoa's shoulder to the rain. Her sleeve was starting to get wet, and she finally noticed when the water seeped down to her skin.

"Hey, could you like…?" she reached out with her other arm and looped it through Yuu's, tugging him closer to her so that the rain wouldn't reach her sleeve. She did it entirely without thinking, so even she was surprised when they ended up pressed against each other, the tips of Shinoa's hair tickling Yuu beneath the chin.

Shinoa felt her face heating up and quickly looked down, as Yuu cleared his throat.

"Oh, uh, sorry. Did your arm get wet?"

"Um…yeah. But it's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, during which Shinoa didn't release her hold on Yuu's arm. It would have been much too embarrassing, like admitting that she had done something awkward after all. Besides, she didn't want to get wet, right?

Suddenly she thought that if someone in the old world had seen them walking together like this, they probably would have assumed they were a couple. The thought made her face flame uncontrollably, and she cursed her unreliable imagination.

Still…maybe this wasn't so bad. At least her arm wasn't getting rained on anymore. And Yuu's side was warm as she pressed against it. The thought made her heart clench and start pumping like it wanted to die, but it wasn't a bad sensation per se. Just new.

"Yuu?"

"Hm?"

"About that date…" she hesitated, chewing on the word. "…I guess, even if it was raining, it wouldn't be so bad."

Yuu blinked before flushing gently, and suddenly became very interested in the trees.

"Y-Yeah. I told you so."

"R-Right."

* * *

Kimizuki's arm was getting tired, and he was starting to wish he'd made Mika hold the umbrella instead.

They were walking at the front of the formation, probably because Shinoa felt some irrational need to keep an eye on them, which he thought was honestly ridiculous. He wasn't stupid enough to attack Mika by himself, seeing as the blond could probably kill him a dozen times over if he wanted to.

But that didn't make him hate the vampire any less.

"You're getting me wet," Mika grumbled, brushing stray drops of water off his shoulder.

"That's unfortunate," Kimizuki said, in the most passive aggressive voice he could muster.

Mika cast him a smoldering glance. "I hate you."

" _Wow._ That's, like, a crazy coincidence. So do I."

The vampire made an offensive sound with his mouth before staring pointedly ahead, shoving his hands into his pockets. He was obviously not interested in continuing the conversation any further, if it could be called that, and Kimizuki was more than happy to oblige. Instead he focused on holding the umbrella precisely so that Mika's shoulder continued to get rained on.

"Why the hell did she make us pair up, anyway?" Mika stewed, swatting at his shoulder again. Kimizuki smiled in satisfaction.

"Why do you think? It's to force us to hammer out our differences."

"Yeah. Like that's going to happen."

"Well, you're right there," Kimizuki exhaled.

Mika just _hmphed_ and crossed his arms over his chest. "None of this is my fault. I wasn't the one who started it. This is all because of you."

The vampire sounded like a god damn kid. "Careful," the pink haired boy said. "Your mental age is slipping through."

Mika glared. "Are you _trying_ to get on my nerves?"

"Yes?" he said, as if this should be fundamentally obvious.

Mika showed his teeth, reaching over to slap his shoulder for the third time. "Chess was my only hope in finding Krul. And you took that chance from me."

"Get over it," Kimizuki sighed, shaking his head. "We would have had to kill her one way or another."

The rain filled the ensuing silence between them then, as the darkness thickened between them.

"You wouldn't have killed her if she was a human," Mika muttered softly, but Kimizuki heard him.

Turning towards the blond, who was slightly shorter than him, the pink haired boy gave him the coldest look he was capable of giving.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked softly, his eyes as uncaring as flint. Mika actually blinked when he looked into them. "I have plenty of reason to hate you, Mikaela. My sister wouldn't have had to be turned into a Seraph if vampires didn't exist. But even if one of your friends got a hold of her and turned her into another bloodsucker, I would still go after her. This isn't about humans or vampires. Not anymore."

That managed to shut the stupid vampire up, and they walked in blessed silence once more. At least Mikaela had Yuu with him, here and now. He had half of his family together. Kimizuki only had his sister, and she was gone far away in the grasp of Hiiragi Kureto. He had no one. The way he saw things, Mikaela didn't know how good he had it.

After a few more minutes, the vampire walking beside him asked a strange question.

"Which do you think I am, Kimizuki? Human or vampire?"

"I don't care," he said bluntly, and that was that.

Strangely, Mika found it easy to believe him.

* * *

Krul was starting to get frustrated.

In the calm before the storm, just before the morning sun reached its peak in the sky, she thought she caught Mika's scent.

There was no way to know for sure; all vampires smelled more or less the same, even one as unique as Mikaela, not to mention there was still considerable distance between them. But she was now about a day away from the area of land directly above Sanguinem, so she figured there probably weren't many other vampires sticking around besides herself.

Just as she started getting excited by the new discovery, however, the skies had pealed open and it began to rain.

That washed away any semblance of a scent completely, leaving Krul stuck in the middle of nowhere with zero idea of where she was supposed to be headed. Feeding on the soldier earlier meant she was good on energy for the next few days, but she didn't like the idea of taking shelter somewhere and waiting out the storm. The sooner she found Mikaela, the better.

Another problem was the fact that her proximity to Sanguinem meant a significant increase in the number of humans in the area; she had had to dodge nearly a dozen random patrols already, and their density was only increasing the closer she got to the lost city. It got to the point that she was forced to ditch her bike in favor of traveling by rooftop, since most of the patrols were stationed on foot.

She had been a little sorry to leave that old, rusted bike behind. It had served her well for the past few days, and she made sure to give it a small pat before leaving it leaning against a telephone pole.

So now here she was, running steadily across the roof of an apartment building in the middle of a massive thunderstorm. The sky rumbled deeply above her as she ran, and her clothes were thoroughly soaked by this point, but she hardly cared. Vampires had no body temperature to begin with, and sickness was something they no longer had to worry about.

Besides, the darkness of the day helped with concealment. As she leapt off the edge of the apartment building and over an alleyway far below, she spotted yet another knot of human soldiers walking alongside the street.

Landing on the roof of an adjacent building, she slowed herself to a stop beside a rusted water tower, putting a hand against it for balance. She cast her eyes over the shrouded landscape before her, chest rising and falling from her earlier exertion, as she waited.

Soon enough a bolt of lightning split the sky, lighting the horizon in pure white.

In that single instance of awareness Krul quickly scanned the buildings in the distance, trying to pick out a particular rooftop.

There; many miles away but still visible over the tops of the city's skyscrapers was the rooftop of Hiiragi Manor. She only recognized it because Mahiru Hiiragi had brought her there once, in secret of course, back when they had still be in contact. Those days were long past now; she had been told that the infamous girl was now dead, though part of her didn't truly believe it. She had known Mahiru well enough to feel like death wasn't enough to get rid of her.

Well, there were actually two reasons why Krul remembered visiting the manor; the first being the fact that Mahiru had brought her there, the second being that it was only accessible to those of the Hiiragi bloodline.

Krul distinctly remembered that the grounds were protected by some eternal spell that could only be nullified by the blood of someone who was part of the patriarchy. Either that or she really was starting to get old. She knew that Mikaela was supposed to be traveling with a member of the Hiiragi clan, one who had defected from the Demon Army all those months ago.

Assuming that particular Hiiragi girl knew about the manor, it would serve as a perfect hiding place.

A moment later the lightning faded away, and she began running across the roof again, heading northward.

To be truthful, she didn't know exactly what she was going to do when or if she found Mikaela. The boy probably thought she was dead. She would have to, had she been in his place. Lest Karr's prisoners were not known to survive their incarcerations. But that wasn't the part she was most worried about.

If the boy really was traveling with a group of humans, humans who had once been part of the Demon Army, a militia built _specifically_ to kill vampires, she was going to have some problems convincing them not to attack her.

Not that she was particularly concerned about losing a potential fight. No, she was more worried about being forced to kill them all to protect herself, which she knew was not going to sit very well with Mikaela. She might not give half a damn about those humans herself, but she knew better than to assume her young charge felt the same.

For the first time in her life, she might actually have to try negotiating with humans.

Well, maybe not for the first time. She had dealt with humans civilly before, with Mahiru Hiiragi. But that had been a relationship borne out of mutual benefit. These humans gained nothing from trusting her.

As she mulled over that in her mind, the lightning flashed again, and she saw that there were no more buildings ahead of her.

Preferring not to take a detour, she jumped down to the street instead of searching for another rooftop, trusting the darkness and her instincts to keep her sufficiently hidden.

She landed soundlessly in the middle of a dark alleyway, right beside a small cluster of trashcans.

Right beside a small human girl who was busy rooting through them.

Krul noticed the girl first but didn't move, turning her head before remaining completely still, not daring to more a single muscle.

A moment later the human girl noticed her, then froze in absolute terror, her hand stuck about an inch away from an uneaten apple sitting in one of the trash cans.

Then Krul had to blink, and the spell seemed to be broken. The girl gasped in fear before scrambling back, but ended up tripping over herself instead, falling hard to the ground with a wet smack. The mistake dirtied her already soaked clothing, which was ragged and beyond repair, and fresh blood was oozing from a cut in her elbow into the puddle she was laying in.

The girl shrank back when Krul finally rose to her feet, but for some reason did not run, probably the paralyzing effects of fear. The vampire noble regarded the human child for a long while, not moving either, as the rain continued to pound down around them.

Then, reaching over into one of the trashcans, she picked up the uneaten apple and tossed it to the girl.

She caught it with shaking hands, then looked back up at Krul, confusion written all over her face.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you," Krul said, trying to take the same tone she had with the young page. She pointed at the apple. "Eat. You need your strength."

Then she turned and fled from the alley, breaking across the open street before diving into a line of trees on the other side.

As she ran, she wondered if what she had done was okay.

Would an approach like that work on Mikaela's friends?

Krul kept her momentum going, and as she moved the hours scraped slowly by, and the manor grew ever closer.

Eventually the thicket of trees ended and she found more rooftops, and she leapt on top of them before resuming her running.

She could clearly see the manor's rooftop now. It had been some hours since the rain had started coming down, but she should still be able to reach it by the end of the day. Then the waiting game would begin. She could post up in a high building somewhere near the manor and pray the Mikaela passed through the area.

She reached the end of another roof, and was about to jump across again when she saw them.

Six figures, huddled beneath three separate umbrellas, walking down the center of an empty street towards the manor. The umbrellas were a pure, stark white, which was the only reason why Krul hadn't completely missed them in the darkness of the storm.

Then the wind picked up, and the most familiar scent in the world struck Krul full force in the nostrils, and her brain caught fire.

Mikaela's scent.

Turning on her heel, she changed her course in less than two steps and leapt down to the street below.

Above her, the sky began to brighten once more, as the storm abated.

 _Mikaela._

* * *

They left the overgrown park behind eventually, and were back out on the open road.

Mika felt a little uncomfortable walking out in the open like this, and with white umbrellas, no less. They must be close to Sanguinem by now, which would mean a higher volume of patrols. It didn't seem like a good idea to risk being spotted, but Shinoa didn't say anything, and he chose to hold his tongue. He knew the sergeant was less than happy with him at the moment.

As they walked, he thought about what Kimizuki had said, about how this wasn't about humans and vampires, not anymore. He supposed that was true. Yuu was human, but Krul was a noble. The two were polar opposites but he loved both of them. He would die for either.

Quietly, he realized that if Yuu was dead and Krul was the only loved one left, and Kimizuki was somehow keeping him from finding her, he might have killed Chess too.

It went both ways. There had been a conflict of interest. It was either Krul or Kimizuki's sister, and Kimizuki had found a way to ensure his interests would win out.

Mika wasn't happy about it in the slightest, but…he could understand. At the very least, he could understand why the boy had done it.

Unfortunately, he couldn't lie to himself about that.

Sighing softly to himself, he wondered what Krul was doing at this very moment, assuming she was even alive. Probably locked up in a cell somewhere far underground, scared and alone, with no one around to look after her. Or perhaps not. Krul wouldn't have shown any fear, even in captivity. She would have died with pride.

Mika knew most others would find his loyalty to Krul to be strange. Most vampires were callous, selfish, and uncaring, even to each other. Most of Krul's subordinates had followed her out of fear rather than admiration. Even Mika had started out hating her. And perhaps that hatred had been justified at first. He was just a tool to her, after all. But not anymore. He was useless to her, yet she continued to care for him and look after him.

Maybe, just maybe, he was enamored with the idea that even a vampire noble like Krul could feel compassion.

It was a nice concept. It would make him happy if it actually existed. But at this rate, he might never get to find out.

Something pierced through the clouds above and struck him in the eye, and he looked up to find that the sun was finally breaking through the storm. The rain began to slacken, reducing to a mere drizzle, and slowly but surely the sun burned away the blackness of the past few hours.

After some time Kimizuki no longer needed the umbrella and folded it up, much to Mika's relief. It gave him an excuse to put some distance between them.

It also meant his shoulder would stop getting wet.

Soon the rest of the squad had folded up their own umbrellas, and Mika walked a little bit ahead, admiring the way the ruins of the city looked around them. Rain always had a way of etherealizing one's surroundings. And there was also that fresh rain smell, which was doubly stronger with his enhanced senses.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, tasting the air.

Rain.

Exhaling slowly, he breathed in again.

Rain.

Out. In. Breathe.

Krul.

Mika's eyes flew open.

And there, standing in the middle of the road in front of him in a drenched hoodie and track pants, was third progenitor Krul Tepes.

Mika felt his heart stop, and for a moment he thought he saw tears spring to the noble's eyes.

"Mikaela," she whispered, raising a hand and reaching out for him.

"Krul…" he murmured back, in a daze, lifting his own hand.

Then the dream was shattered by Shinoa's voice.

"Yoichi!" she shouted, before drawing her scythe.

 _No._ If the sergeant was calling Yoichi's name, it could only mean one thing. An arrow was coming. An arrow loaded with murderous intent.

Turning on his heel, he drew his sword and swung it blindly in front of him, screaming at the top of his lungs.

His blade caught the tip of the arrow just before it would have flown past him, and it exploded in front of his face.

A huge plume of smoke billowed outward and consumed the street, the force of the impact blowing him back several feet. Ignoring the burning pain that ate at his arm and cheeks, he dragged himself to his feet and began stumbling through the smoke, searching for Krul, his hands grasping desperately at thin air.

Meanwhile, the rumble of the explosion swept down the length of the street, rolling onward until it faded into nothing.

Shinoa coughed as the smoke wreathed past her, holding her nose and mouth with hand. She waved at the space in front of her with the other, trying to see through the screen. Yuu was similarly blinded beside her, and Mitsuba and Yoichi were still somewhere in the back, lost inside the smoke.

At last Shikama-Doji chose to take the initiative, her black form rising from the blade of Shinoa's scythe. She began twisting her body in a wide spiral, rising quickly upwards, forming a vortex with her own manifestation.

The movement formed a cone of spiraling air at the center of the smokescreen, and with a rush of air it was dispelled from the street.

Shinoa coughed once before patting her scythe with one hand, mentally thanking her demon for the idea.

Then her eyes settled on what was taking place at the end of the street.

Mika was standing with his sword held before him in a defensive stance, placed squarely between Krul and the rest of the squad. His other hand was pulled somewhere behind him, because he had grasped the vampire's wrist, using the grip to pulled her protectively behind him.

The sight was almost comical. A common level vampire like Mika, protecting what looked like a noble? It didn't make any sense.

"Stop it! Don't hurt her!" Mikaela shouted, brandishing his sword wildly before him. "Get back!"

"What the fuck are you doing?" Kimizuki snarled, both of his swords drawn. He had thrown his umbrella off to the side. "Have you gone blind? That's a fucking vampire!"

Footsteps rushed in from behind her, and Yoichi was appearing at her side, bow drawn back and ready to fire. With his enhanced accuracy, the archer could probably nail Krul whether Mika was covering her or not.

Yoichi closed one eye to fire, but Shinoa raised one arm and lowered his bow.

"Shinoa?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

The sergeant just shook her head in response, pointing towards the small vampire hiding behind Mika's arm.

"Look closely, Yoichi," she said. "Haven't you seen her somewhere before?'

The archer frowned, narrowing his eyes in there direction. "I'm not sure. I…" His voice trailed off as he realized.

"That's her," Yuu breathed, slowly letting go of his sword. "That's Krul Tepes."

Kimizuki blinked, his mouth peeling open and hanging there.

"Stand down," Shinoa suggested, twirling her own scythe. As it reduced itself back to minimum size, the rest of the squad reluctantly sheathed their weapons.

Mika lowered his own sword, breathing heavily from the intensity of his emotions. Then small arms came around his middle, and he looked down to see that Krul was hugging him from behind.

"I missed you so much," she whispered, and then Mika was falling to his knees, turning around so that he could hug Krul back, and then the boy was nearly sobbing as they held each other fiercely, trying to affirm that yes, she was real, yes, he was real, they were both real, and they were real together.

Mika's shoulders shook as he struggled to resist the urge to cry, and Krul smiled softly as she stroked the boy's hair, feeling the cynicism of a thousand years fall off her shoulders.

"How?" he asked, hiding his face from his superior. "How are you here? Why now? How?"

Krul gently grasped the boy's chin and raised his face, using her thumbs to wipe away the small tears falling from his eyes. She held him there and smiled, then leaned forward to press their foreheads together.

"Because I wanted to, Mikaela. Because I had the audacity to dream."

Yuu smiled at the vampire's choice of words, while Shinoa merely blinked at them.

And far above, the sun smiled on a new day.

* * *

A/N

So this chapter official ends the divergence the Krul's and Mika's storylines, which have now merged and will happen alongside each other. I hope I was able to make their reunion feel rewarding. The focus will shift back to Shinoa in the next chapter.

As for the ultimate length of this story, I'm projecting for it to be around 20 chapters. Give or take. (Assuming I finish it.)

Thanks for reading!

~Banshee

* * *

Reviewer Responses

Annabeth-Cyone: I'm sure Crowley wouldn't appreciate losing his two favorite handmaidens. He'll become a factor later.

Suki90: Best of luck with that translation!

Justinsj5: Definitely trying to manage these multiple plotlines with care. I think they'll all merge to some extent eventually, though.


	7. Chasing Maybes

"There is a definite split between who I am inside, and who I become outside.

It seems as the years go by that the demands of the Hiiragi family only increase upon me. Now that I am nearly an adult, I can see that the transition is truly inevitable. Soon the heiress shall inherit.

I will not pretend that my position does not ask much of me; but I must also remember that this very same position presents its own set of opportunities. There are things about this family that do not sit well with me; once I am in power, it may be possible to change them. So for now, the facade shall remain.

I met a girl from one of the branch families today, who called me 'the only kind Hiiragi.' I didn't know whether to feel flattered for myself or offended for my relatives. Either way, it appears that my reputation yet precedes me. My relatives, as well as those in the branch families, seem convinced of my apparent goodwill.

This is not to say that I would rather act out of malice, of course; I wish the best for everyone. I truly do. But there are still days when I would rather abandon my duties, or choose a side, or confront an enemy. With my perceived image, however, this is simply not possible. In order to ensure brother Kureto does not take leadership from under me, I need to have everyone on my side.

I seems that I can now only be genuine around Shinoa, and you, Guren. She's such a strange girl, by the way. Good, but strange. The people I interact with on a daily basis can usually be categorized into those I lie to and those I don't, but with her I feel both. With her I feel the desire to protect and the desire to expose her to reality.

For now though, she has mostly only known my facade. It would be too dangerous otherwise, should those in Kureto's faction choose to use her against me. My soul aches for her. Lord knows she needs someone on her side; I certainly am, but she might not know that. She may believe she stands alone, and I hope I have an opportunity to assure her otherwise someday.

What do you think, Guren? I wonder which version of myself she will end up needing most; the sister who lies for her sake, or the one who places her heart over my own?

-Mahiru Hiiragi in a private letter to Guren Ichinose, some years before the virus outbreak

* * *

Chapter 7: Chasing Maybes

 _Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap…._

Ferid shifted nervously in place, something he didn't feel the need to do often, but this was almost certainly an exception. He had been within close proximity of someone who was more than capable of killing him before, and more often than not, those people ended up getting angry. However, it was usually because of something he had done or said.

This time it was because of something else entirely, and it brought a factor of unpredictability he didn't like.

He was standing in the main throne room of Tenebris-Lux, directly beside the gold inlaid chair that dominated the center of the chamber. Lest Karr was sitting in the throne himself, tapping his foot agitatedly on the marble flooring, filling the chamber with its resonance.

 _Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap…_

The young king had been sitting here for what felt like hour at this point, and Ferid was honestly starting to get a little bored, not to mention his knees were getting tired. He wanted to ask to be excused, but knew better than to actually do so, since an angry Lest wasn't particularly inclined to granting requests.

Oh, right. That was the reason for his nervousness, by the way.

Lest Karr was seething with anger.

One might not have been able to tell at a glance, but Ferid was good at reading others, and could smell the murderous intent radiating off the third progenitor. Lest's eyes were blank and his face expressionless, as he sat in the throne with his fingers folded over his nose. The only thing that betrayed his restlessness was the shaking of his leg, which Ferid noticed was the one Krul had unceremoniously ripped off some days ago.

Indeed. The former queen's escape had taken place all of three days ago, and yet the young king still seethed. Ferid wished he would just get over it already, but once again held his tongue.

"Ferid," Lest said suddenly, his voice low.

"Yes, my king?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

"Are our armies ready to head out yet?"

The lower vampire hummed in thought, trying to remember what the generals had told him earlier. In all honesty, he hadn't really be listening. "Ah…yes. We should be ready to move by the end of today. We've mustered the largest force we could manage in the amount of time we have."

"Good," Lest said darkly. His leg stopped shaking, but the glowering look on his face remained.

Ferid exhaled through his nose. "Is something bothering you, my liege?"

Lest glared at him from his seat, his eyes dark and red. "What do you think?"

"Lady Tepes?" Ferid guessed airily, trying to keep his tone as flat as possible. Something he wasn't very good at.

" _Lady_ Tepes?" Lest snapped, looking up at him a second time. His leg started shaking again.

"Sorry. Slip of the tongue," Ferid sighed. "Are you concerned that she might return to reclaim her throne?"

"As if she could," Lest snarled, rising from his seat and pacing a few steps forward. "I am more concerned about her current whereabouts, since I would like nothing more than to recapture her and tear off one of _her_ legs."

Ferid rolled his eyes when Lest wasn't looking. He wasn't particularly old himself, at least not compared to Krul, but even he was starting to understand why the former queen had ripped this boy's leg off in the first place. "Would you like me to organize a task force to locate her?"

"No," Lest said bluntly, crossing his arms. "Krul's objective is to reunite with Mikaela, and we know he is heading for Sanguinem with the humans. Our fates will intertwine there."

Ferid bit his lip, once again resisting the urge to says something snarky. To be quiet frank, he questioned the wisdom of marching on Sanguinem so soon. He didn't particularly relish the idea of losing another couple hundred vampires to the Seraph, and he also doubted Lest's plan to allow the rogue humans to dismantle it. Feasible, certainly, but unlikely.

"Well, I'm sure you'll manage to kill her next time," he said neutrally. Or at least he thought he did, but a little condescension must have slipped through, because Lest glared at him again.

"Obviously," the king growled, then leapt down the steps leading up to the throne, striding down the length of the chamber. He pointed to a young page standing dutifully by the door and said, "You there! Tell the generals to double their time tables. We march on Sanguinem tomorrow morning!"

With that he threw open the door and disappeared through it, letting it slam shut behind him.

The young page looked confusedly at Ferid, wringing his fingers nervously. "Um…I don't know any of the generals…"

"I'll take care of it," Ferid sighed, walking over and clapping the boy on the shoulder. "You just go…deliver some messages, or something."

As the page scurried off to do just that, Ferid pinched his nose, nursing a minor headache.

Despite his nature, he personally did not prefer war.

* * *

Shinoa pinched her nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.

She could guess at its causes. Lack of sleep, for one; almost dying a few times in the past week, or another. Teammates at each other's throats. Oh, and a vampire progenitor dropping out of the sky. Just another day.

As if.

They were walking through a large suburban area that branched off from the heart of the city, as the last remnants of rain dripped off signs and streetlamps in passing. It appeared that there were no human patrols in the area, so Shinoa chose to take them down the main street, the one that led straight to the Hiiragi manor at the very end.

The squad was also walking in a set order, one that she had devised herself. She had Krul walking in the very front, ensuring that the vampire wouldn't be able to surprise anyone from behind. The rest of them was spread out in a V shape behind the progenitor, not unlike the formation of migratory birds, their demon weapons at the ready.

Finally, directly behind Krul and with no one else between them to obscure a possible shot, Yoichi was following them in the rear, his bow drawn and ready. This way, they could minimize the chance of any surprises.

It was elaborate, certainly, but Shinoa believed it necessary. This was different from the time she had chosen to trust Mika on a whim. That had been because Mika was Yuu's brother, and they had no choice other than to throw their weight behind the blonde. This time their only connection to Krul was through Mikaela, who she knew had a tendency to act irrationally. Not to mention this was the former queen they were dealing with. No, no. She was going to exercise extreme caution, even if Mika wasn't happy about it.

And he certainly wasn't happy about it.

"This is unnecessary," the blond snapped, from his position at the rear of the right wing. Shinoa had chosen to place him the furthest from Krul, at least for now. "Krul isn't here to hurt anyone. This is a waste of time."

She saw Yuu bite his lip, grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. The boy must be equally conflicted. Caught between his hatred for vampires, and his loyalty to his brother. Sometimes love only got in the way.

"I understand how you feel, Mika," Shinoa said. She was walking closest behind Krul on the left side, her scythe minimized but in her hand. "I don't want to do this either. But until I know I can trust your friend, I'm not taking any chances."

"It's fine, Mikaela," Krul said softly, not turning around from her spot at the front; Shinoa had asked that she remain facing forward at all times. "I understand the need for this. I might have done the same, in their shoes."

"I…" Mika seemed about to say something else, then closed his mouth, narrowing his eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

Shinoa felt a pang of sympathy for him. Krul might be dangerous, but Mika cared for her all the same. It must hurt to see the vampire herded around like this, after being apart for so long. But it still did nothing to change her mind.

They walked quietly down the length of the street for a while, shoes crunching on the loose gravel. Soon they would be at the Hiiragi manor, which Shinoa hadn't personally been to since after her sister died. She had spent considerable time there with Mahiru, and after the girl's passing she hadn't been able to bring herself to return if she could avoid it.

Just another thing Mahiru had taken with her.

"So, young one," Krul said softly, so that only Shinoa could hear. "I assume you are the Hiiragi?"

Shinoa just frowned at the back of Krul's head, wondering if the vampire was trying to distract her. It didn't seem so. "Yes. I am a Hiiragi."

"You're Mahiru's sister, aren't you?"

Shinoa very nearly stumbled over a stray piece of rubble, but caught herself at the last moment. Yuu gave her a weird look, but she just smiled at him, trying to play it off. Not that she smiled for no reason to begin with, so it probably ended up looking more suspicious.

"How did you know?" she whispered as last, drawing a little closer behind Krul. "Actually, how do you even know my sister?"

The vampire chuckled softly under her breath. "Mahiru Hiiragi had a…far reaching reputation. We met on more than one occasion, before the virus. The two of us had some arrangements in the past, so I had the chance to get to know her."

"What sort of…arrangements?" Shinoa asked, raising an eyebrow.

Krul hummed for a moment, then shook her head. "It's a long story, and one that might not be mine to tell. Perhaps later, when we have more time. An incentive to keep me alive, hm?"

Shinoa just stared at the back of Krul's head, not really knowing what to say. In retrospect, perhaps she shouldn't have been so surprised that her sister knew a few vampires here and there. It was just a strange coincidence to actually run into one of them.

Besides, it sort of hurt to discover yet another thing Mahiru had kept hidden from her, but Shinoa squashed the feeling quickly. She would get nothing out of it; there was no point.

"Still…" Krul murmured, forcing Shinoa to strain her ears. "I heard that she passed away some time ago. I hadn't known. I lost most of my human contacts many years ago, after all. She was a a strong girl, even for a human. She had my respect."

Shinoa watched her shoes as they walked. "She had many people's respect."

"Though not as many hearts, perhaps."

Before she could ask what Krul meant by that, they turned the last corner, and the Hiiragi manor appeared at the end of the street.

"Woah," Mitsuba murmured, lowering her hammer. "That is one big house."

Even Shinoa had to agree that the Hiiragi manor was indeed massive, even by her own standards. The facade of the building loomed before them at the end of the street, multiple stories high and a couple hundred yards across. It was an intricate, elaborately designed affair, with little designs carved into the walls, though they couldn't see any from this distance. The gardens out front were overgrown and wild by now too, and the paint was faded and peeling.

Still, it was some sort of home. Kind of. Shinoa had never really had a true home, but she supposed the manor sufficed.

"Come on," she suggested, gesturing for them to resume moving. "We'll be safe once we enter the main gate."

"Is there some sort of protection around the manor?" Yuu asked her, eyeing the building from afar.

"The surrounding gate is protected by an ancient spell," Shinoa explained, taking out her minimized scythe. "It can only be opened by the blood of someone from the Hiiragi bloodline, which I just so happen to be a part of. The grounds cannot be accessed by other means, or at least none that I know of. It's the safest place I could think of in the area."

Krul hummed in agreement. "I was brought here once, by your sister. I couldn't sense any holes in the manor's protections. And spells usually grow stronger over time."

By now they had reached the front of the manor, which was protected by a black, wrought iron gate. The likenesses of two snarling animals were depicted on either side of the gate, set into the darkness of the steel. They seemed to be watching as the group approached, and Shinoa felt her palms begin to itch. She had never liked this gate, even as a child.

"Yuu, take my place," she said, before stepping out of the V formation. As the swordsman shuffled in place behind her (murmuring some sort of apology to Krul, she noticed), she walked over to the center of the wrought iron gate, approaching the warped looking keyhole set into its center.

"So…what exactly have you got to do? Tap your feet and say the magic words?" Kimizuki asked blandly, crossing his arms. Mika also rolled his eyes, but probably for different reasons.

Shinoa just huffed at him. "No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous."

Lifting her minimized scythe, she put it against her pointer finger and made a small prick at the very tip, squeezing her finger until a fat drop of blood was hanging on the edge.

Then, holding her hand vertically like a key, she stuck her finger inside the keyhole and turned.

The center of the gate began glowing a deep green, and there was a deep _kerchunk_ sound as it hissed open, both sides seeming to swing aside of their own accord.

Yuu whistled, balancing his sword on his shoulder. "That's some state of the art security right there."

"So anyone in your family can open the gate this way?" Kimizuki asked, as the group stepped through the open gate and onto the manor grounds.

"Yes," Shinoa said, resuming her spot in the V formation. Behind them, the gate ground shut again, the magical lock clicking back in place. "Or more specifically, anyone with Hiiragi blood on their hands. It's the key to breaking the seal surrounding this place."

Kimizuki just frowned at the high stone walls ringing the perimeter of the manor. "So doesn't that mean Kureto could come in here if he wanted to?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"And wouldn't we be kind of screwed of he did?"

"Well, let's just hope he doesn't," Shinoa sighed, in a way that said the conversation was over. She couldn't account for every single possible setback. Sometimes it was more annoying to be overestimated than underestimated.

They filed down the middle of the gardens, passing between squares of overflowing grass. The stone path they were walking on was worn and had some cracks, but it was mostly intact, as was the building. The Hiiragi clan had abandoned this manor some years ago, as it no longer served its purpose, but the magical seals had been left in place, which was why the manor was in much better condition than the surrounding buildings.

At last they reached the front door, which was securely shut and probably locked. Shinoa didn't have a key, and she didn't particularly feel like smashing things today.

"Krul, if you don't mind?" she asked, gesturing towards the door.

The vampire raised an eyebrow, following the girl's gaze, and seemed to understand. Reaching out with one hand, she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it.

The lock mechanism inside the door, as well as the knob itself, were promptly torn out by the relative force Krul applied, and a moment later the door sagged open.

"Err…" Krul mumbled, holding the decimated door knob in her hand. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Shinoa said, suppressing a smile. "Just get inside."

Krul led the group through the front door, footsteps echoing on the marble flooring. Yoichi entered last and tried to close the door behind him, forgetting that the knob was gone now, and gave up when it just floated open again.

The inside of the manor was just as extravagant as the outside; marble adorned the floors, walls and ceiling, and the front door opened out into a huge lobby of sorts, with high staircases leading off to the rest of the building's rooms.

There were several chairs and tables clustered around the center of the room, and Shinoa gestured for everyone to gather around them, maintaining formation all the while. She grabbed a comfortable looking chair and set it aways from them, gesturing for Krul to take a seat. The vampire did so obligingly, and Shinoa turned to rejoin the rest of the group.

Finally they were all situated; Shinoa and her squad sitting more or less together, facing Krul, who was sitting some distance away, in her own little chair. Mika was sitting somewhere between them, in the area between the squad and Krul, eyeing both parties nervously.

Shinoa cleared her throat loudly, though this was probably unnecessary, since no one was talking. "Alright, down to business," she said, clapping her hands together. "But before we get started, does anyone need a bathroom break or a drink?"

Everyone just stared dumbly at her for the poor joke, though she did notice Yuu suppress a smile, which she supposed was good enough.

"Alright well, don't say I didn't ask," she sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Krul, I do believe you have some explaining to do."

All eyes then shifted to the vampire noble, who dipped her head in acknowledgement, seemingly not cowed by the lot of them. Which made sense. Krul could probably win a fight against all of them at once.

"Where to begin?" she wondered aloud, her gaze drifting over to Mika, who just smiled reassuringly back. "It's been months since we last met…or so I think. It was difficult to tell while underground."

Mika's eyes widened. "So you _were_ being held prisoner."

"Yes, I was," Krul agreed, clucking her tongue at a bad memory. "I supposed we can start there."

"Yes, let's," Shinoa concurred. The rest of the group merely leaned in, preparing to listen. She supposed she should be grateful they weren't hell bent on killing Krul instead, especially Kimizuki, though the boy had yet to say anything regarding the vampire just yet. Instead he watched, quietly and observantly.

Krul cleared her throat, the group leaned in, and a vampire began telling her rather human story.

* * *

Meanwhile, far below the earth in the depths of Sanguinem, a demon was looking down at an angel.

Guren Ichinose was standing in a small chamber in the deepest level of the vampire city, within an area even the highest ranking generals in the army weren't allowed to access. Only a select few, himself and Kureto included, were permitted to be in this area.

Pursing his lips, he gazed down at the girl laying comatose before him.

There, behind a small glass orb designed to contain the divine, the Seraph was slumbering. The small body of the girl it inhabited was set inside a mechanical looking chair, ridden with wires and dials, some of which snaked beneath the host's shirt and into her body. Kureto told him it was necessary to keep the vessel sedated, lest the Seraph awake and lay waste to them all.

"Admiring greatness?" a voice asked from behind him.

When he turned, Kureto was standing to his right, gazing through the glass orb with him. The general had a satisfied smile on his face, and his eyes seemed to devour the small girl through the glass, and for a moment Guren saw teeth in the man's black irises.

"That's one word for it," he said at last, turning back to the girl.

Kureto smirked at him. "Don't be glib, Ichinose. Think about all the doors the Seraph has opened for us."

Guren narrowed his eyes. "I won't trust something we can't fully control."

The general just hummed thoughtfully, toying with the pommel of his blade. "And who is it that believes that? Guren Ichinose…or Mahiru Hiiragi?"

"Does it matter?" Guren asked coldly, turning to regard his superior.

Kureto smiled at the unfeeling malice he found in the man's eyes. Cold anger like that was very useful. "Not particularly. I was merely curious. Whether I am speaking to my sister or her former lover."

Guren put a hand to his forehead, pushing his fingers through his unruly hair.

"The difference grows lesser with every passing day," he murmured, gazing at the ceiling. "But…for now, you are speaking to Guren Ichinose."

"Hmm." Kureto eyed his subordinate for a moment. "I've always wondered…can she hear us even while she isn't in control?"

Guren closed his eyes and sighed. "I…" His voice trailed off, and then something seemed to arrest his breathing, as if he were choking on something.

When Kureto turned to look at him, the man's eyes had opened again, but this time the irises were red.

"Of course I can hear you, Kureto," a now possessed Guren smiled, his demeanor completely changed. "I can always hear you. I hear everything."

Kureto just smiled darkly, leaning against the glass orb. "That could prove troublesome for when I need to pass on sensitive information."

"Pssh. 'Sensitive information,'" Guren echoed, making air quotes. "Like what? Those children who seceded all those months ago?"

"They may still pose a threat," Kureto pointed out, shrugging.

Guren smiled. "I think you're just paranoid."

"I wasn't the one who brought it up," Kureto countered. "How about you, then? Have you given up on your former subordinates yet?"

The smile melted off of Guren's face, and he went back to looking down at the Seraph.

"They're irrelevant," he said softly, putting a hand on the glass. "They mean nothing to me."

"Is that Mahiru or Guren speaking?"

"Either or."

* * *

Krul irritably pushed a hand away from her face for the dozenth time.

"For crying out loud Mikaela, I told you I'm _fine._ "

"Are you sure?" the blond fretted, looking the female over, trying to find some sort of injury, but of course he didn't find anything. Anything would have healed by now. But looked anyway, much to his superior's increasing irritation. "How about blood? Have you eaten recently?"

"I fed this morning!" Krul protested, pushing Mikaela away from her. "You don't have to worry about me, alright? Just relax."

That finally convinced the younger vampire to sit back and quit invading Krul's personal space, much to her relief. She might be happy to have found Mikaela at last, but vampires were usually pretty antsy about touching others. Krul was no exception.

The two of them were sitting in a large bedroom on the second floor of the manor, with the rest of the squad milling about elsewhere, minding their own business. It appeared that they were trying to give Krul some space, as well as some time to catch up Mikaela. Or at least, that was what they told her. Krul had the feeling most of them just didn't want to be near her.

Not that she didn't understand.

"More importantly," she said out loud, "I was the one more concerned about _you._ I can't imagine the past five months have been kind to you."

"No they haven't," Mikaela agreed. "But I'm used to hardship by now."

It hurt her to hear him say that, but she couldn't argue against it either.

"Still, I must admit," she said, bunching the sheets of the bed she was sitting on. "I expected our first meeting to be a bit less…smooth."

Mikaela bit his lip. "Well, Yoichi almost shot you," he said. "Which I must apologize for."

"It isn't your fault," Krul said simply. "Their response was justified. I probably would have done the same. Besides, I didn't want to hurt your allies. You cherish them, do you not?"

The younger vampire blinked at that, then looked away. "I suppose you could say that."

It had taken some time for Krul to finish recounting everything that had happened to her, even if she tried to truncate whenever possible. She told the humans of Ferid and Crowley's plotted treachery, Lest Karr's arrival in Japan, and her subsequent imprisonment at his hand.

When she reached the portion about being starved for blood, Mikaela looked ready to kill something, but she had put a reassuring hand to his arm. His anger was appreciated, but misplaced all the same.

"And there you have it," she had said, at the end of her story. "After escaping I began my search for Mikaela, and that was how I happened upon your group. That is all I have to tell."

The humans were silent when she finished speaking, and seemed more inclined to simply sit there, digesting everything they had just been told.

Their silence seemed to make Mikaela nervous, so she decided to say something more.

"I will be frank, for both our sakes," she said, controlling the tone of her voice. "I only came to you in order to reunite with Mikaela. After losing my throne, after losing this war, he was the only one I had left. He still is. And thus his presence here is the only thing keeping me from leaving this island and pursuing a life alone. However…I also bear no ill will towards the rest of you. You have all been good to Mikaela in my absence, and for that you have my gratitude. I understand that it is difficult to trust a vampire…but I also have trouble trusting humans. So for whatever it may be worth…I hope that you will accept me."

The humans sitting across from her exchanged several glances, ones that she could not read. Human emotions were something foreign to her.

At last one of the humans, the Hiiragi girl sitting in the center, sighed and rose from her seat.

"I chose to trust a vampire before," she said, gesturing towards Mikaela. "I was backed into a corner at the time, but I don't regret my decision. So there is precedent for this. And considering our situation, I don't really think we can be picky with who our allies are. So…"

Shinoa closed the distance between them, then held her hand out, in the universal human gesture that Krul recognized as a request for a handshake.

"We might be of different races," she said. "But we both have someone we want to protect. So if you will have us, Lady Tepes…the honor would be mine."

Krul found herself smiling begrudgingly as she rose from her own seat. Yes, this was most certainly Mahiru's sister. They had the same visceral look in their eyes.

"You flatter me, Hiiragi," she said. "But I accept."

Even now, looking back, Krul realized that she tended not to kill humans unless it was absolutely necessary, either because she had to feed or because her life was in danger. Perhaps it was because she saw part of herself in them; the part that was capable of caring for others, the part that placed her loved ones over herself. That wasn't something she saw often in other vampires, but she saw it all the time in humans. Mankind may be a dangerous and destructive race, but did they not act as they do because they cared? Did they not kill in the name of love?

By now it was apparent why Ferid and Crowley had deemed her a threat to vampiric supremacy over Japan. Her levels of eccentricity were off the charts. A vampire who betrayed her race, a vampire who was selfish and cared for others…it was almost unheard of.

A small weight thumped against her shoulder, removing her from her thoughts.

Mikaela was resting his head against her, eyes closed, a contented look on his face.

"And yet, to think," he said, "That I would have both you and Yuu together in one place. It feels like a dream."

Krul smiled affectionately, but began gently stroking the boy's hair.

"Because that's exactly what it is."

* * *

Later that night, once everybody had managed to get settled in, Shinoa took a shower.

This was rather significant, in the light that she hadn't been able to properly wash herself in about a week, and she was starting to feel rather disgusting. She had been rather delighted to find that the manor's private generators were still operational, and only needed some minor tweaking before they were up and running again, which Kimizuki managed to figure out by himself. She supposed the boy could be useful for something, now and then.

So now here she was, standing absentmindedly in one of the manor's many, many showers, watching a week's worth of grime drain down by her feet. Grabbing a nearby sponge, she began dutifully scrubbing at her skin, trying to rub out all the stress that had accumulated there over the past few days.

She had invited Mitsuba to join her, but the blonde had flatly refused, saying something about "the last time the two of us showered together."

Shinoa couldn't recall what the girl meant by that, but she was insistent, so the sergeant dropped it and went in by herself.

Tilting her head back, she let the water stream against her face. What a day it had been. They had added yet another vampire to their ranks, and a third progenitor at that. While Shinoa understood the vast benefits Krul's addition would bring to their combat ability, she wasn't particularly concerned with that at the moment. She was more worried about how the vampire's presence would alter the chemistry of the group, particularly in Kimizuki's case. The boy's conflict with Mika had been intense, but at least the blond now had both Krul and Yuu by his side. He should be more than satisfied.

It occurred to her then, that Mika had actually managed to gather his entire family in one place. Yuu, Krul, and to some extent the rest of the group…the boy had everyone. In a random mismatching of people who were all incomplete in some way, Mikaela just might have become the most whole out of all of them.

Shinoa wondered how it felt, to be able to walk around knowing what Mika knew. That both Krul and Yuu were safe and nearby, for now. Would he feel relief and a sense of accomplishment? Or would he grow paranoid and afraid to lose them again? She had no way of knowing. She wasn't him, and she knew intimately that Mahiru had never been hers and hers alone. Not really.

Would Mika want to turn his back on Sanguinem now? She would understand completely if he did. He had everything he really needed now. What point was there in risking it? If she had been the boy's shoes, perhaps she would have tried to leave their quest behind herself.

Still, Yuu was never going to agree to turn back with Mika, so in that way the vampire was still tied to them.

Exhaling through her nose, Shinoa finished washing herself and turned off the shower water, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her damp body.

The mirror was shrouded in steam when she stepped in front of it, and she could only make out a vague likeness of her face. Reaching out, she pressed a hand against the glass and swiped across it, clearing away the obscurity.

When she looked up, she was surprised to see her own eyes staring intensely back at her, deep and black looking.

Shinoa had seen that expression on her face before. When she was peering into a display case in the Hiiragi manor, many years ago, her face reflected on the glass, when one of her relatives happened to enter the room. When the JIDA took her picture for photo ID an hour before her first mission. When they first told her that Mahiru had turned into a demon, and that somebody was going to have to kill her.

It was the face she had whenever she felt something bad was about to happen.

The water from her hand dripped down the glass where she had touched it, cutting its way downwards. They were just a half day from the main entrance to Sanguinem now. They could go there tomorrow morning if they wanted to. In fact they probably should, since it made no sense to stall. They were about as ready as they were ever going to be, this ragtag group of theirs.

Was she scared? That didn't seem like the right word for what she was feeling. Not something so honest as fear. She was more…reluctant. That was a little closer. Maybe there wasn't a word yet for what she felt. But reluctant was close enough. Reluctant to endanger herself again. Reluctant to endanger her friends again. Getting into Sanguinem was one thing. Kidnapping a high ranking military officer and a chained angel was quite another.

Biting her lip, she turned on the sink and started washing her hands, even though there was nothing on them. She had known the stakes from the very beginning. She had known what undertaking this journey would entail. Why was she doubting herself now? Other people died every day. They were all 'other people' to other people. In those people's eyes their deaths would mean nothing.

That was what she used to tell herself after Mahiru died, but now she could only think that that was so stupid, she didn't _care_ about other people. As long as she got what she wanted what did it really matter? She was under no obligation to cater to the emotions of those who would never return the favor.

Then again, Mahiru had never acted that way. And she had adored Mahiru.

Shinoa's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.

"Hey Shinoa, you in there?" Yuu's voice floated through the wood. "Kimizuki's about to start making dinner. Want some?"

"Y-Yeah, sure," she called out, perhaps a second too late, because she could sense Yuu's frown through the door.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," she lied, turning off the sink. She dried her hands on the towel wrapped around her waist. "Just having an existential crisis, here."

"The good kind or the bad kind?" Yuu inquired. Shinoa blinked.

"Was there ever a good kind?"

"I don't know. But it'd be nice."

Shinoa snorted as the Yuu padded off down the hall in search of Kimizuki. Once he was gone, she opened the door to let the steam out.

He was always so annoyingly positive.

* * *

Dinner was a bit more extravagant than usual. And by extravagant she meant they weren't biting into cold ramen bricks like a bunch of pigeons.

"Oh wow, actual hot food," Yuu marveled, somewhat sarcastically, as he turned his empty bowl over in his hands.

"We've had hot food before," Kimizuki grumbled, poking at the stew he was making. It was on an actual hot plate this time, boiling in actually clean water, with some preserved ingredients Yoichi had found sitting in a storage cabinet on the third floor.

"Not since your portable hot plate ran out of battery," Mitsuba corrected, leaning against the side of a nearby bed. They were all gathered in the middle of Kimizuki's room, since he was the one carrying around all the cooking equipment. There were more than enough bedrooms in the manor for each of them to run their own house, so for the first time in a while they would all be sleeping separately. The bedsheets were actually intact for once, too. Dusty, but intact.

Kimizuki just grunted in acknowledgement, tossing some spices into the mix. They had stopped finding batteries lying around at some point, meaning that his hot plate had been rendered more or less useless, other than as a very clunky paperweight.

It was dark inside the manor by now; the generator was providing power to the building, but the lightbulbs themselves were dead, so they would have to go without light as usual. The glow of the hot plate cast weird shadows on the walls, as the five of them sat huddled around it. Shinoa thought it looked a bit like a campfire, if she pretended hard enough. She was sure Yuu could see it.

"Where are the vampires, anyway?" Mitsuba wondered aloud, absentmindedly trying to balance her bowl on her forehead. It ended up falling on her knee instead, and she decided to stop, rubbing gingerly at the now bruised joint.

"Having their own emotional reunion, I'm sure," Kimizuki muttered, stirring the stew. "Not that I'm making any servings for those two. They couldn't even eat it."

"Oh, yeah."

"Come on, I'm sure they have a lot to catch up on," Yoichi chided. He was sitting next to Mitsuba, his own bowl sitting neatly by his side. "They've been apart for a long time."

Yuu hummed in agreement. "I'm happy for him," he said. He had his sword unsheathed and was holding it up to the light of the hot plate, watching the weak light glint off of it. "I knew he always wanted to go and try finding Krul. But he never could because of me. I always felt bad about it."

"Well, not that it matters much," Shinoa shrugged, bumping him with her shoulder. "They're together now."

"Together…" Kimizuki murmured under his breath, hypnotically stirring the stew.

Yuu sheathed his sword and put it behind him. "You say something?"

"No. Mind your own business."

The boy pouted. "Tch. You're so cold."

"And so will your hot pot be if you don't shut up."

"Alright, _fine_. I'm sorry."

As the rest of them shared a laugh of their exchange, Shinoa sensed a presence approaching the door to Kimizuki's room, and her eyes naturally gravitated towards that spot, expecting to see Mikaela standing there.

She was half right; Krul was standing quietly behind him, as the younger vampire poked his head in through the door, looking somewhat nervous.

"Um…hi there," he said, uncharacteristically submissive sounding. "Do you mind if the two of us join you? Krul has something to say."

The humans in the group exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. They weren't going to refuse, but it also would have felt strange to act enthusiastic about it. The very idea of eating with a vampire was the definition of awkward. They had eaten with Mika before, but that was different. At least he had started out human.

"Is that alright with everyone?" Shinoa asked, glancing at everyone else in turn, spending a particularly long amount of time gazing at Kimizuki. The boy merely shrugged and dunked his ladle back into the pot, not looking at her.

"Yeah, that's fine, I guess," he grunted. "It doesn't really matter."

Shinoa nodded at Mika, who smiled gratefully before entering the room. The young vampire had always tried to do everything by himself ever since joining the squad, so it was refreshing to see him ask permission for something for once. Maybe it would help reinforce the idea that they were in this together.

They shuffled aside to widen the circle and make room for the two newcomers. Krul ended up taking a seat next to Yoichi, who smiled nervously and stuttered a soft hello. The vampire nodded gracefully back.

Once the circle was reinstated Mika cleared his throat, and all eyes except Kimizuki's went to him.

"So, Krul and I were talking," he explained, "And I told her about our intention to sneak into Sanguinem."

Shinoa merely hummed in acknowledgement, masking her surprise. She hadn't sensed any reluctance in the boy's voice when he mentioned entering the city.

"Mika had a lot to fill me in on," Krul said, as she sat daintily with her legs tucked beneath her. Everyone's gazes instinctively shifted to her when she spoke. Such was the gravitas of a queen. "I won't pretend to fully understand the situation, but I do know your reasons for entering the city. So I chose to take a few liberties."

She reached into her pocket and produced a folded up slip of paper, which she handed to Shinoa.

"That's a map I drew of all the surface entrances to Sanguinem," she said, as Shinoa unfolded the paper and began poring over it. "I can't recall much about the layout of the actual city, unfortunately, but that should be enough to get you in. It's not much, but it might help."

"I…" Shinoa mouthed, but her voice trailed off as she continued to observe the map. Krul was right; it wasn't anything spectacular, but still extremely useful. Now they wouldn't have to search. "Thank you. We all appreciate this very much."

Krul smiled slightly, shaking her head. "If you're going to thank anyone, thank Mikaela. He's the one who asked me for it."

"Really?" All eyes turned to Mika, who flushed and looked at the wall, flustered.

"I-I just thought I would ask," he muttered, scratching at his cheek, suddenly very absorbed by the pattern of the carpet.

Shinoa just laughed at him, refusing to indulge the vampire by playing along. "Yeah, sure. I believe you. But still, thank you, Lady Tepes. We will be sure to make good use of this in the city."

Krul raised an eyebrow. "You speak as if you will be going without me," she said. "But I have every attention of accompanying you on this venture."

The circle suddenly became very quiet, and Shinoa felt her jaw unhinging a moment too late, forcing herself to keep the damn thing closed.

Krul just smiled bemusedly at their reaction, leaning back on one hand. "I hope you don't mind, Hiiragi. I've spent too long searching for Mikaela here to let him out of my sight again. You can count of my help as well, of course. I will do my best to aid you once we enter the city."

Perhaps Shinoa should not have been so surprised. It was natural for Krul to want to protect Mikaela; or perhaps it would have been natural if she were a human. Either way, the sergeant understood the noble's reasons. This would only serve to benefit them. Having a third progenitor on their side certainly wouldn't hurt.

"In that case…" Shinoa bowed her head. "I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise," Krul concurred. "But if you don't mind me asking, do you all have some sort of plan in place? Any strategy once you enter the city?"

The rest of the squad looked at Shinoa, and suddenly the paper Krul had given her felt very heavy in her pocket.

"I'm…working on it," the sergeant said carefully. "I'll have a decision made by the morning. Once we all agree on it we can act."

"Fair enough," Krul said, and then they all descended into a strange silence, one that was somewhere between awkward and comfortable.

It suddenly occurred to Shinoa that only she and Krul had been doing the talking up to this point. The rest of the group had simply been watching them. If they were all going to get along, something had to be done about the ice that stood in the way.

"Alright everybody," Shinoa announced, clapping her hands together. "Since we've now added a new member, how about we all go around an introduce ourselves?"

"What is this, kindergarten?" Mitsuba grumbled, reaching over and ladling some stew into her bowl.

"Hey that's not ready yet," Kimizuki frowned.

"I don't care. I'm starving here."

"Kindergarten or not, we should all make an effort to get along," Shinoa insisted. "Yoichi, you can go first."

The archer blinked, caught off guard. "Me? Um, sure…" he cleared his throat, before extending a hand towards Krul. "I'm Saotome Yoichi. But you can just call me Yoichi. Nice to meet you?"

"Likewise," Krul reciprocated, taking the boy's hand. "You humans sure like your handshakes, don't you?"

"What do vampires do when they greet each other?"

"We don't."

"Oh."

"Mitsuba, you go next," Shinoa said sternly, forcing eye contact with the blonde.

Mitsuba just sighed aggressively and spooned some more stew into her mouth before putting her bowl down. Then she sat up straight and turned to face Krul, sticking her own hand out.

"I'm Mitsuba. Call me Mitsuba. I don't really like vampires, but you seem alright. Let's get along."

Shinoa rolled her eyes at the blonde's attitude, but Krul simply shook her hand, her face revealing nothing. It seemed the vampire was putting in an honest effort on her own end.

Mitsuba went back to wolfing down her soup, and now it was Shinoa's turn.

"Ah, well…I'm Hiiragi Shinoa. But you already knew that." she tried to think of something more substantial to add. "I generally call the shots around here. Not that you guys tend to listen to what I say. But that's fine."

This time the rest of the squad rolled their eyes at her. She just stuck her tongue out at them.

She thought she saw Krul smile, but maybe she was just seeing things.

Next it was Yuu's turn, and the group fell silent again as the boy gazed quietly at Krul, who stared calmly back.

"I'm Hyakuya Yuuichiro," he said slowly, his face impassive. "I believe we've met before."

Krul nodded. "Many years ago, when you were still a boy. I still remember that day. It was the day you escaped to the surface, and Mikaela passed into my care."

The swordsman cracked a wry smile. "I still haven't decided whether that day was a good or bad one."

The vampire closed her eyes. "I can't say I would apologize for what happened that day. I had my reasons, you see. But believe me when I say I had no ill will towards you on that day. Nor do I hold any now."

Yuu smiled for real this time, lowering his head. "That's fine. I believe you. And I understand. Let's get along?"

"It would be my pleasure," Krul said, as the two shook hands. "And do not lower your head so easily, Hyakuya. It is unbecoming of you."

Yuu seemed to find that rather amusing, because he laughed, while Krul resumed her gracious stance. It was strange to think it, but Shinoa thought the vampire looked almost…elegant. That was a first. Usually vampires were trying to take her head off, so there had never been much time to admire them.

Finally it was Kimizuki's turn, and the tension returned to the air, as they were all unsure of what the boy would say. He had remained silent until now; he had been silent earlier, and he had been silent all day. Nobody was sure what was going through his mind during all this. But it probably wasn't anything good.

He stared at Krul for a very long time, and Krul could only gaze regally back, engaging the boy in a staring match of sorts. Shinoa slid her eyes quietly between the two of them, wondering who would break first, who would shatter the silence.

"My name is Kimizuki Shiho," the boy said at last, his ladle motionless in the stew. "Call me whatever you like. It's nice to meet you."

With that he went back to stirring the stew, making it clear that he had nothing more to say.

"Mmm…right," Mika said, clearing his throat rather unnecessarily. "Well Krul, you already know me, so I suppose that's all?"

"Not quite, Mika," Shinoa chided from across the circle. "Krul hasn't introduced herself yet."

The young vampire rolled his eyes. "Is that really necessary."

"It's fine. I don't mind," Krul said, putting a hand on her young charge's knee. Mika shrugged and looked the other way, as Krul tossed her hair back and looked at each other them in turn.

"My name is Lady Krul Tepes," she said, in a voice that was both commanding and welcoming. "I am a third progenitor and the former ruler of Japan. Some call me a queen. Others say I'm a monster. Whichever camp each of you may fall into, I hope that we may coexist."

"Thank you, Lady Tepes," Shinoa said politely, clapping in a way she hoped didn't come off as condescending.

The vampire merely smiled at her. "Call me Krul."

"Stew's ready," Kimizuki said blandly, once Krul was finished talking. "Just have to add the seasoning now."

Mitsuba paused in the middle of eating. "Wait, is _that_ why this stuff's so bland?"

"I told you it wasn't ready yet."

"What the hell, Kimizuki?"

"What the hell do you mean 'what the hell?' I _warned_ you."

"…I hate you."

"What a coincidence. So do I."

Krul blinked as, beside her, Mika shivered from a strange case of deja vu.

* * *

They finished dinner in relative peace, though Krul and Mika couldn't do much more than watch. Once they were all done eating (Mitsuba had two servings after complaining about the lack of seasoning) everybody headed off to been on Shinoa's orders, though she felt they would have done so without her asking.

"We have a big day tomorrow," she had said, as she ushered everyone out the door. "We're finally doing what we've set out to do."

 _A big day_ , Kimizuki thought to himself, as he began packing up the cooking equipment.

Soon everyone was out of his room, everyone except Mika, who was just reaching for the door knob when Kimizuki called out to him.

"Hey," he said, pausing with his hand around the pot, before he could stop himself.

The vampire stopped and turned back, a questioning look on his face. "Yes?"

Kimizuki blinked when their eyes met, and he found himself looking away. "You got a minute?"

Mika raised an eyebrow, letting his hand fall away from the doorknob. "Depends. Am I just going to be verbally abused again?"

"If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't be asking," Kimizuki pointed out, stuffing the cleaned pot back into his bag.

Mika chuckled dryly. "I suppose."

The blond went over to sit on the edge of Kimizuki's bed, and the owner of said bed stared sightlessly at the bag of pots and pans in his hand, trying to think of why he had called out to the other boy in the first place.

"So…what did you need?" Mika asked, prompting him.

Kimizuki pursed his lips, reaching up to push his glasses back up his nose. What did he need, indeed? Not much. His little sister back. A place to cook in peace. That was pretty much it.

The window was half drawn shut, and the moon was seeping in through the cracks; rising to his feet, he walked over and pulled them apart, letting the lunar light flood into the room. It looked different from inside the manor; it seemed that the spell that protected the grounds slightly warped any light that entered through it, giving it a slightly bluer tinge.

"Kimizuki?" Mika asked again, sounding somewhat impatient.

"Just…what's it like?" he finally said, gripping the edge of the window sill.

The vampire paused. "What is what like?"

Kimizuki gritted his teeth. "You know…Krul. Finally finding her. Having her. Having Yuu. Both in the same place. That."

"Oh. That." Mika smiled as he looked down at his lap, folding his fingers together. "It's…nice. Fulfilling, in a way. I feel more or less content, now. Like I've achieved something I've been chasing this whole time."

The pink haired boy stared forlornly at the moon. "Must be a nice feeling."

Mika nodded. "It is. I feel…safer, in a way. More secure. Less anxious."

Kimizuki just muttered something incoherent in response. Mika gazed at the other boy's back, trying to guess what he was thinking. He opened his mouth to say something else, but the bespectacled boy beat him to it.

"Are you not mad at me anymore?"

Mika blinked, then thought about it. Then he smiled sheepishly.

"I guess I should be," he said, rubbing at the back of his head. "But in the end I got to find Krul again regardless. So…no. It doesn't really matter to me anymore. Either way I got what I wanted."

"Mmm." Kimizuki knew he wasn't the type of person to let go of his grudges easily. Losing his sister had only made that part of him grow larger and uglier. He had become petty in the last few years. He had become shallow and combative.

If he got to be with Mirai again, would he be able to let that all go like Mika had?

A cloud shifted out of the way, and the moon shone more clearly through the glass, nearly blinding him. The moon was impassive in the night sky. The moon didn't care. Yet every day it continued to shine brightly. Maybe it was able to do that because it shared the sky with the stars. If the sky was black and empty like the rest of space, would the moon be as bright? Or would it be a black circle in the heavens, like the pit in his heart?

Fine, he would admit it. Seeing Mika with Krul had made him jealous. Mika had everything now. He had his family together. Meanwhile Kimizuki was still alone, trying to find his sister, who was barely even human anymore. It didn't feel fair. It _wasn't_ fair, actually. But the world had never been very fair to him. He had known that. But that didn't make it any easier.

"Do you miss her?" Mika asked suddenly, breaking into his thoughts.

Kimizuki frowned at the window. "Who?"

"Your sister, obviously."

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the glass, feeling its cool surface on his skin. "Yeah, I guess."

Mika snorted. "You _guess?_ "

He smiled wryly to himself. "I don't know. It's been so long since I last saw her, I don't know what to feel anymore."

Behind him he heard the sound of the bed creaking, as Mika rose back to his feet.

"You'll see her again, Kimizuki," the vampire said firmly, his voice unwavering. "I know you will. We'll find her and we'll bring her back."

Kimizuki chuckled briefly, keeping his eyes closed. "Is that so?"

"If I was able to meet Krul again, you should be able to meet your sister again," Mika insisted, walking up behind him. "We're going to find you sister. And she's going to be free again. And you'll be able to feel what I feel."

Kimizuki opened his eyes, staring at his reflection in the glass. The dark eyes he hated so much.

"That's a nice thought," he said, not really knowing what else to say. "It'd be great if that could actually happen."

"It will," Mika said, reaching out and putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You have to believe it, Kimizuki. You have to be brave enough to dream. Otherwise…it'll be over before it even begins."

Kimizuki tilted his head back and gazed at the moon. When had it ever looked this clear? He had walked under a dozen different moons beneath a hundred different skies, but none of them had ever looked like this.

"I know that, you idiot," he said at last, brushing Mika's hand off his shoulder. Turning around, he poked the vampire in the chest right where his heart was and jabbed himself in the same spot. "I'm going to go get my sister back. Even if it takes my life."

Mika just smiled softly, pushing Kimizuki's hand away from his chest.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

* * *

After that Mika left to go to his own room, and on the way he passed Shinoa in the hall.

"Oh Mika," she said, stopping in her tracks. She was barefoot and in a nightgown, her hair let down. "Going to bed now?"

"Yes," he said, stopping by a window. "Tomorrow's a big day, right?"

Shinoa laughed, holding her arm behind her back. "Yes, I did say that."

They both gazed out the window, the night light painting their faces ivory.

"It's a beautiful moon, isn't it?" Mika said softly, strangely captivated.

Shinoa smiled and turned away from the window, walking off down the hall.

"Yes…until the dawn comes, that is."

When they had all gone around choosing their rooms, Yuu made sure to pick one that was further away from everyone else's. Kimizuki tended to snore, and Mika was always making noise at night, being a vampire and all. Shinoa and Mitsuba generally liked their privacy, so he tried to respect that by putting some distance between them.

As such, he ended up sleeping in a room in a completely different wing from everyone else, though he remained on the same floor due to safety reasons. On the off chance that Kureto actually decided to storm in here with a hundred men behind him, Yuu didn't want to be caught sitting on his ass.

That decided, he fell into bed at some late hour and drifted off to sleep.

He was woken by the sound of a violin.

It invaded his dreams first, penetrating the layers of his consciousness. Eventually his brain figured out that the music was something external to himself, and he awoke, laying face up on top of the covers in the darkness of his room.

He waited for a few minutes until his eyes adjusted, and during that time the music did not abate, continuing softly from wherever it was playing. He could barely hear it, but it was definitely there, floating through the walls of the manor into his room. It was a slow, mournful tune, one that made his heart ache for some unknown reason.

Yuu laid there for several minutes, debating whether it was worth getting up to investigate or not. Finally he gave into his own curiosity and dragged himself out of bed, taking the blanket with him. If there happened to be some crazy vampire hanging out in the manor with a hobby of playing the violin, he ought to know about it.

Wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, he pulled open the door to his room, stepping out into the hall. Here the music was slightly louder, and he began following it, padding barefoot towards where it seemed to be coming from.

There was no light in the manor halls other than the moonlight that streamed in through the windows, and Yuu put a hand to the wall as he walked, the blanket trailing behind him. It was all very creepy and horror house-esque, and he did his best not to let his imagination run away in the darkness.

The violin was more prominent now, and he could make out a definite melody. He didn't know the name of the song, but he got the feeling that he had heard it before, perhaps in passing. It truly was a sorrowful tune, and he felt a frown cutting into his face as he followed it, allowing the music to lead him deeper into the manor.

Soon he turned a corner and found its source, at the very end of the hall. There was door was sitting slightly ajar, a splash of moonlight shimmering through the crack. The violin music was floating out from the room beyond, and Yuu approached the door slowly, ready to discover a musically inclined vampire on the other side.

Using only the very tips of his fingers, he pushed open the door.

Turns out it wasn't a musical vampire; it was actually Shinoa, sitting in a wide high backed chair in the center of a large room, with a small record player sitting on a table beside her, playing the sorrowful violin.

The sergeant started when she heard the door open, and jerked her head around to see who it was. She relaxed when she saw him, however, and leaned back into the seat.

"Yuu," she said softly, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "You startled me. Why are you still awake?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Yuu said, pulling the blanket into the room with him and letting the door fall shut. It was a long, wide room, larger than the others, like it was meant to house something.

Once he walked deeper into the room, he realized what.

The walls were covered with several paintings, portraits that hung from the walls at even intervals on every side. It was difficult to discern in the darkness, but each painting seemed to be a depiction of someone's face from the shoulder up, like a sort of visual family tree.

"…What is this?" he breathed, peering at the paintings. A couple of them looked vaguely familiar, but it was still too dark to tell. There was an open window in the room, but a cloud was covering the moon.

"A collection of family portraits," Shinoa explained, reaching over to the record player. After turning a few buttons, she lowered the volume. "Every prominent Hiiragi in recent memory has their likeness displayed here."

Yuu glanced at Shinoa's arm as it retracted from the record player, and realized she was only in her nightgown. "Aren't you cold?"

"A bit," she admitted, rubbing at her arms. "But I don't mind it."

"Here, you can use this," Yuu said, holding out the blanket.

Shinoa turned and smiled at him. "But if I do, then you'll be cold."

The swordsman shrugged. "I don't mind it."

"Well, neither do I."

They reached a verbal stalemate at that point, and they stared silently at each other until Shinoa finally sighed to herself.

"Alright, fine. We'll compromise. Come here."

Yuu blinked but otherwise obliged her, walking around the chair as Shinoa scooted over to the side. It was wide enough to fit both of them together.

"We can share," the sergeant said, patting the spot beside her. "Both the blanket and our body heat, that is."

Yuu raised his eyebrows at the idea. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Shinoa chided, grabbing his elbow and pulling him down onto the chair. "Just hurry up. I'm getting cold."

"I thought you said you didn't mind it," the swordsman muttered, as he sat down beside Shinoa. Grabbing the blanket, he threw it over the both of them.

"Shush," Shinoa whispered, pulling the blanket up to her chin. She pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to capture more warmth with her small body.

Yuu just exhaled through his nose and tried his best to sit still, waiting for his eyes to adjust further to the darkness. The chair was wide enough for both of them, but their shoulders were still pressed tightly together, and he could feel Shinoa's arm brushing against his. But the sergeant didn't say anything, and he took that as a cue to remain silent himself, and soon they were listening quietly to the music.

"Why are you here?" he asked at last, in a soft voice.

"Couldn't sleep," Shinoa replied. She had her eyes closed, nose buried in the blanket. It smelled like him. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Are we still heading for Sanguinem tomorrow?" Yuu asked, sinking deeper into the blanket.

"Probably. Assuming I can come up with something by then," Shinoa muttered, obviously displeased with herself. Yuu glanced over at the table that the record player was sitting on and noticed the paper Krul had given them, sitting open next to a worn down pencil. The paper seemed to have been marked over and over again, like Shinoa had been taking notes this whole time, but to no avail.

"Having trouble coming up with a plan?" he asked, eyeing the paper.

Shinoa sighed through her nose. "Sort of. There are a lot of contingencies to keep in mind. That and other things."

Yuu glanced at her. "Is something else bothering you? Are you worried about something else?"

The sergeant closed her eyes again, turning her head away from him.

"No. I'm not worried about anything else."

Yuu closed his own eyes.

"Liar."

A wry smile.

Before Yuu could press her further, the cloud that had been covering the moon moved aside, and the portion of the wall directly in front of them was flooded with light.

It revealed the portrait of an attractive young woman with purple ashen hair, smiling amiably at them. She bore a striking resemblance to Shinoa, so much so that they could have been sisters. Only then did it occur to Yuu whose portrait he was looking at.

"Is that her?" he asked, leaning forward to look closer. "Is that Mahiru?"

Shinoa smiled. "Yes, that's her. I told you every prominent Hiiragi is displayed here."

Yuu looked around at the rest of the room, trying to make out the other portraits. "Are you here?"

"Of course not. Nobody in the family cared about me."

"Oh."

A brief silence followed, one Shinoa felt responsible for. She hadn't meant to be so blunt. It was just the truth.

"So why did you come here, of all places?" Yuu asked at last.

"I just…hadn't seen Mahiru's face in a while," Shinoa admitted, gazing softly at the portrait across from them. "I was beginning to forget certain details. Details I didn't want to forget."

"And the music?"

Shinoa just shrugged at that one, gesturing towards the record player. "She used to love this song."

Yuu glanced over at the little black disc spinning in circles beneath the needle. "What's it called?"

"I don't know. I never got a chance to ask."

They went back to gazing at the portrait, and Yuu tried to guess what kind of person Mahiru had been through that single likeness. She seemed like a kind person, assuming the painting was an accurate one. Big, expressive eyes. A gentle smile. Perhaps Yuu would have liked to meet her. From the way Shinoa spoke about Mahiru, she must have been a decent person. Those were in short supply these days.

After a few minutes the song ended, and the needle lifted off the record. It slowed to a stop, and Shinoa reached over to the turn it off, so that they sat together in silence.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Shinoa said, staring at her sister.

Yuu stared with her. "She looks a lot like you."

Shinoa smiled. "Flattery won't get you anywhere."

"I know. I was just saying."

"My sister was always much more capable than me," Shinoa said simply, leaning against her arm of the chair. "And yet, in the end, she also failed to protect those she cared about."

 _Also_. Who had Shinoa failed to protect? It must have been Mahiru. Did Shinoa blame herself for her sister's death? Yuu couldn't imagine that it had been her fault. Or perhaps there was something Shinoa could have done, something that may have prevented Mahiru's passing. He understood the regret of having not acted sooner. That was something he was painfully familiar with.

"Sometimes," he said out loud, "Dreams remain that. Just dreams."

Shinoa glanced at him. "Indeed. Or they become nightmares."

"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't dream," Yuu continued, turning to look at her. "If anything, it means we should dream more. Until they come true."

The sergeant titled her head back at the ceiling. "Is that so?"

Yuu sighed, bunching the blanket up in his hands. "Shinoa, just what is it that's bothering you?"

The girl's hand shifted beneath the blanket, and then she was grabbing Yuu's wrist, holding his hand up before her face.

"You have big hands, Yuu," she murmured, drawing her thumb across his palm. "Is it because you try to hold many things?"

Yuu stared at her, worry etched into his face. "What are you talking about, Shinoa?"

The girl merely sighed and grabbed the paper Krul had given her, handing it to Yuu. It was criss crossed with pencil marks, but none of them looked definitive in any way.

"I keep doubting myself, Yuu," she said, jabbing a finger into the paper. "Every plan, every idea I come up with, has the potential to fail. One of us could die. One of us could get captured. One of us simply might not make it."

The swordsman gazed at the paper, at the angry looking marks that scarred its surface. "Is this what's bothering you?"

"What if someone dies, Yuu?" Shinoa whispered, resting her head on her knees. "What if I lose one of you again? I don't want that to happen. I don't want to lose someone if I can prevent it. Not like last time. Not like when I lost Mahiru."

So there had been something, something Shinoa felt she should have done, that could have saved her sister. Yuu could see the weight of it crushing the girl's tiny shoulders. She was struggling, desperate to rewrite something that had been written against her will, out of the pure fear that she would fail herself again.

"There's a reason why I'm not on this wall," the sergeant murmured, hiding her face in her arms. "I'm not strong enough to protect everyone I want to protect. Look how small my hands are, Yuu. Look how small they are compared to yours. I can't hold everything I want in them. I'll end up dropping something, in the end."

In that moment, in that cold, moonlit moment, Yuu saw a girl who was giving up on the prospect of a dream. A girl who was beginning to accept that all dreams would ultimately become nightmares. Yuu saw this and realized that he hated it. He hated the idea that Shinoa, his sergeant, his friend, his companion, was beginning to feel that it was better to let people go before they were lost. He didn't want that to happen. He wanted Shinoa to dream. He wanted her to believe that today would be better than yesterday.

Hands moved beneath the blanket, and then Yuu was grabbing Shinoa's hands and holding them tightly in his own, forcing the girl to look up at him.

"You know, Mika always used to make fun of me…" he murmured, not really knowing what to say, but knowing that he had to say something. "He always used to make fun of me for having small hands. For a guy, that is. I liked playing sports and things like that when I was younger, but it wasn't that easy at first. My hands were just too small."

Shinoa smiled weakly, her eyes a little watery. "That's kind of lame."

Yuu sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said. Then his grip tightened around Shinoa's fingers. "But the thing is, that didn't stop me from wanting to play. It didn't stop me from trying to get better. And I'm not trying to say that I'm better than you either. Your sister might have been more capable than you, Shinoa, but I think you're more capable than me. So if I can move on despite the size of my hands, I think you can too."

Shinoa laughed awkwardly, blushing at the warmth of Yuu's hands enveloping her own. "What the hell are you trying to say, Yuu?"

The boy grinned sheepishly, somewhat embarrassed himself. "I guess I'm trying to say…that maybe you can't come up with a plan because you're too worried about something going wrong. Things can always go wrong. That's just a fact of life. But I think the only thing we can do is try our best and hope that things will turn out alright. I think that you just need to at least wish for it."

"Wish for it, huh?" Shinoa murmured, staring down at the paper.

She thought about what Krul had said earlier that day. About why she had been able to find Mika again. _Because I had the audacity to dream_. Was that the same thing Yuu was trying to tell her now? Was she merely immobilized by her fear of loss?

Perhaps it was time to go all in. If she really was hell bent on not losing anybody, she should have turned her back on Sanguinem a long time ago.

"Alright, Yuu," she sighed at last, folding up the paper and setting it aside. "If that's what you truly believe, I'll try. I'll try my best to dream."

Yuu smiled and ruffled her hair, the sensation sending pleasant tingles down her spine.

"Thanks."

With that she closed her eyes and leaned against him, trying to catch some sleep before dawn.

Trying to dream about tomorrow.

* * *

A/N

It's like 4 AM right now and I'm literally dead so yeah this probably has like 500 typos I'm sorry. This was a hella long chapter and my mind is fried.

Tell me what you guys thought and thanks so much for reading.

~Banshee

* * *

Reviewer Responses

Annabeth-Cyone: I kind of want them to not go to Sanguinem either LOL but it must be done...

yanagi: Wasn't really planning to make Mika and Krul a romantic pairing in this one, more of a master servant thing like you said...also I don't really know if Shinya will appear much, if at all. This story doesn't really acknowledge the manga.

SkyRage: I tried rewriting the summary. It still reads kind of weird though. Fml.


	8. Kingdom of Darkness

This chapter is long as all hell. I'm sorry.

* * *

"I remember when I lost my first teammate.

April 2nd, six years after the virus outbreak. My squad was patrolling the outer rim of the Shinjuku territory when a Horseman of John ambushed us. We were only three men strong; my superiors hadn't expected for there to be any strong monsters near the walls, and had assured us that more than three men was entirely unnecessary.

Maybe the walls weren't working properly for some reason; maybe we were all just fucking unlucky that day. Either way, taking the thing down alone was impossible. After barely standing our ground for five minutes I ordered everyone to flee.

Three blocks later I remembered that Kyouko had a bad leg, but by the time it occurred to me it was already too late.

When I turned around the monster was already upon her; she hadn't said anything, hadn't yelled out at all, and to this day I feel that it was out of a reluctance to slow the rest of us down. The Horseman caught her just as we turned a corner, just as Kyouko's weak leg finally gave out, and then it was over.

I saw her go down and stopped to go back for her; but then she screamed the most incomprehensible thing, four words that still haunt my dreams in the depth of night.

 _Leave me. Save yourself._

My mind must have been colder than my heart then, because a moment later I was running away again, back towards the walls. I plugged my ears and tried to block out the sound of Kyouko's body being torn in two. I tried to block out the sound of my heart tearing itself out of my ribcage and the sound of her sister quietly sobbing beside me.

Six minutes later we reached the wall and a response team was waiting for us there. But it was too late. Kyouko was long dead by then.

I do not understand it. Even after all these years I do no understand it. Humans are so selfish in life; they take what they want, they do not compromise, and in the worst of times they do not feel. Being part of the Hiiragi clan has taught me this well. Kyouko had the capacity for selfishness as well. She was not a perfect human being.

So how could such a flawed creature give everything up for someone else? How is it that people can be so selfless in death?"

-from the diary of Shinya Hiiragi

* * *

Chapter 8: Kingdom of Darkness

In the cool, foreboding morning that followed, seven quiet figures departed from the Hiiragi manor and slipped into the fog that wreathed between the buildings beyond.

It was a crisp day, one where the air was thin and held little of the sky's warmth. Winter was most definitely coming; they were now in the tail end of November, and fall was losing its grip on the earth with every passing day. The wind had teeth as it slipped between them, and Shinoa shivered as she pulled a thin scarf higher over her nose, not wanting her breath to fog.

Once they were near the edge of the city they scaled the highest building in the area, filing out onto the roof in order to get their bearings. Most of the surface entrances to Sanguinem were beyond the edge of the city, meaning that this would be their last chance to scope the field before committing.

Shinoa put her shoe on the edge of the roof and leaned into it, scanning the horizon with a careful eye. She could already see the jagged outlines of human patrols in the distance; they would be out in force this close to the vampire city, especially around the entrances. They would have to do this delicately. _Very_ delicately.

The air shifted around her skin, and she felt goosebumps rise quietly beneath her clothes. Up here it was even colder, and suddenly her JIDA uniform didn't feel very substantial for keeping her warm. Which made sense, she supposed. She didn't happen to have the issue of the uniform designed for colder temperatures. It was summer when they seceded, after all.

 _Summer._ It all felt like so long ago. Back then Shinoa hadn't been sure if they would ever see another human from the JIDA again. Now here they were, sitting a few miles out of where Guren supposedly was. It all felt so surreal, like they weren't supposed to be doing this, like it was breaking some sacred rule. A bunch of kids up against the whole world. Shinoa had read plenty of books like that, but books weren't the same as real life. There was no such thing as plot armor here.

Could they really pull this off?

Gravel crunched behind her, then Yuu was walking up to stand by her side, staring out at the horizon with her.

"Having second thoughts?" he asked.

Shinoa smiled wryly. "Maybe. Do you doubt your sergeant?"

"Of course not. But she might be doubting herself."

The sergeant exhaled through her nose as she gazed at the human specks in the distance. "I just hope this goes through smoothly."

"It will. I have faith in you, Shinoa," Yuu said seriously, putting a hand on her shoulder. Shinoa gazed at him as he continued. "Your plan's going to work. I think it's a good one. And we're all going to do our best."

The girl smiled more earnestly this time, reaching up to pinch the boy's cheek in thanks. "Let's hope our best is enough."

With that she turned back to the rest of the group, who were waiting for her near the entrance to the roof. Krul was watching her carefully from beside Mika's elbow, her eyes neither judgmental nor placid. They merely observed.

Shinoa stopped in front of them, pulling her scarf down from her nose so she could speak.

"Let's head out," she said. "I know where we are now. As long as we're careful, we should be able to enter the city without too much trouble."

Everyone nodded and began filing through the door, including Krul, who gave her some sort of approving smile. Shinoa was about to grab the door knob herself when Yuu called out to her.

"Did you dream last night?" he asked, a small smile on his lips.

She paused in front of the yawning stairwell, then closed her eyes contentedly.

"Maybe a little."

* * *

The plan was thus; to sneak into Sanguinem without being detected, retrieving both Guren and the Seraph (with or without their consent), before leaving the city behind, preferably without anyone noticing their presence.

Not that this had ever been unclear to any of them. Shinoa had understood the objectives of their mission. The only problem was the details of execution.

After listening to Yuu's advice, however, she had been able to clear her mind somewhat. She awoke in the room of family portraits with a better idea of what she wanted to do, and had set out to map out her plans immediately. Yuu was still snoring away when she left the chair they had shared overnight, so she tucked the blanket around him before leaving.

Once everyone else had pulled themselves out of bed, Shinoa was waiting for them in the living room.

"Here's what I want to do," she said, spreading out Krul's map of Sanguinem on the desk. Or rather it was another copy, since the original had been marked one too many times already. "There is not just one person we must retrieve today, but two. For that reason, I would like to split our forces into two separate groups."

She saw some of her friends flinch at the proposition, but she ignored them and forged on. These were the same fears she had struggled with until this morning. It wasn't as if she wasn't as afraid as them, either. She was merely able to hope for better.

"The two most isolated surface entrances to Sanguinem are located here and here," she continued, circling the spots on the map. "Since we have no way of knowing where Guren or Kimizuki's sister are located in the city, we'll have to make an educated guess."

Krul hummed under her breath, the tip of her thumb between her teeth. Her fangs were drawing a little blood, but she didn't seem to care. "Assuming protecting the Seraph is their greatest priority, they're likely keeping her in the deepest levels of the city. There isn't an easy way to access that area, as far as I remember."

Shinoa nodded. The two of them had been over this beforehand, seeing as vampires didn't sleep much. "The two team leaders will be myself and Kimizuki. He will take the eastern entrance since it is the closest to the bowels. I will go west and search for Guren."

Kimizuki blinked, somewhat surprised. "Are you sure you trust me to lead the group?"

The sergeant met his gaze from across the table. "She's your sister, Kimizuki," she said simply, turning her eyes back to the map. "So the real question is, would you trust anyone else to do the job?"

The boy stared at her for a moment, then his face hardened. "No. I wouldn't. I'll do it."

Shinoa nodded in affirmation before drawing two more large circles above the eastern and western entrances. "Mika and Yuu, you're with me. Krul, Mitsuba, and Yoichi will go with Kimizuki. Our vampires are the biggest offensive assets we have with us at the moment, so I'll have to allocate you two evenly. I hope you don't mind."

Mika bit his lip, somewhat bothered by the prospect of being separated from Krul again. But when he looked over at his superior the noble simply shook her head, putting a hand over the blond's.

"We understand your reasons. And I agree with them."

Shinoa blinked in appreciation and pencilled the names in. "We have seven total, but the Seraph is likely to be heavily guarded, so Kimizuki gets four. Hopefully with Krul by your side, you'll be able to deal with any potential resistance."

"What do we do once we find her?" Yoichi piped up from the back. Everyone turned to look at him, and he shrank back somewhat. "I mean, assuming it all pans out, that is."

This time Krul answered the inquiry, tapping one clawed finger against another spot on the map. "There is an old delivery tunnel that leads straight to the surface, from any level of the city. After the virus outbreak we stopped taking trips to the surface, so it has fallen into disuse. It's near the heart of the city, but there isn't much reason for anyone to be around there. We should be able to use the tunnel to escape."

"We will all be wearing watches," Shinoa added, holding up a box of them she had gathered from around the manor. "Once we reach the designated time, everyone needs to be at the rendezvous point. Otherwise we'll all be sitting ducks out there."

The group fell silent as they digested the nuances of the plan Shinoa had proposed. The sergeant sat back and waited, expecting some sort of backlash from someone. It was far from a perfect plan, after all. Certainly not foolproof. There were so many things that could go wrong down there.

"I should also add," Krul said, "That Lest Karr fully intends to take Sanguinem back for himself. I am not aware of when the attack with take place, but it will be soon. It could even be today. There's no way to tell."

Suddenly Mitsuba made a disgruntled noise in her throat, grabbing the map and pulling it in front of her. Her eyes pored over it again and again, and Shinoa merely watched helplessly.

"There are way too many maybes in this plan of yours," the blonde growled at last, sitting back and crossing her arms. "We don't even know where Guren or the Seraph _are_. The chances of getting caught are way too high. Not to mention one of them's possessed and the other's a literal _angel-_ "

There was an abrupt scraping sound as Yuu stood up from his seat, pushing his chair somewhere behind him. Everyone turned to look at the boy as he put his hands on the table, leaning in towards the center.

"I know this probably isn't the best plan you guys have ever seen," he said slowly. "But I believe it's the best one we can come up with right now. Still, I understand. Kimizuki and I will go no matter what, but we can't force the rest of you to come with us. No one will stop you if you want to opt out."

All eyes turned back to Mitsuba, who flushed badly at Yuu's words and looked away pointedly.

"I-I mean, I never said I wasn't going to do it…someone's gotta look after your dumb ass anyway…"

"Unfortunately, Mitsuba," Shinoa smiled, "Mika and I will be in charge of that. But we appreciate the sentiment. So, are there any more objections?"

Everyone collectively shook there heads, and Shinoa folded up the map in satisfaction.

"In that case, the matter is settled," she said. "We leave in an hour. Go pack your things."

* * *

That moment had only been a little over an hour ago, but already it felt like an eternity. They were in an entirely different world now; exposed, alone, far from the protective safeguards placed around the Hiiragi manor. It occurred to Shinoa that that one night in the manor had been the safest she had felt in a long while.

Was it the ancient spell placed around the grounds? Was it the feeling of having an actual plan for once? Or was it the reassuring scent of Yuu's clothes as she slept against him?

Lifting an arm, she sniffed her sleeve self consciously. It still smelled faintly of him. Strangely, she was beginning to become familiar with the boy's scent.

 _What the hell are you thinking about, Shinoa? Focus._

She slapped herself gently on the cheeks, refocusing on the scene before them.

They were halfway up the slope of a grassy knoll, a few miles out from the far edge of the city. They had left the last of the buildings behind some time ago, which meant that they were now exposed in the open. Beyond the city there was nothing but wild grass and rolling hills; a great spot if you wanted to be able to spot enemies approaching, a terrible spot if you were one of said enemies.

Everyone was currently huddled behind a particularly large clump of bushes halfway up the hill, trying their best to remain quiet and immobile. Meanwhile Shinoa quickly pored over the map for the hundredth time, checking to make sure they were in the right place. If they had had an actual, marked map with real measurements, she wouldn't have to check. But she was literally working with a drawing a (possibly senile) vampire had given her, so there was plenty of possibility for error here.

"Move over. You're squishing my leg," Kimizuki grumbled, somewhere behind her.

"Shut up. Do you want to get us caught?" Yuu hissed back. Shinoa rolled her eyes. The bushes were thick here, but not quite high enough to hide all seven of them comfortably. Either way, they couldn't stay here for much longer.

Pushing her arms through the wall of branches, Shinoa peeked through their cover at the top of the knoll.

There, taking a short break near the peak, was a patrol of six humans. They were sitting in a lose circle on the grass, chatting idly amongst each other about who knew what; she was too far to hear. From what she could discern, none of them seemed to be armed with anything of the Black Demon series, but that didn't mean she was willing to fight them. Causing any sort of commotion could be the end of everything.

Withdrawing back behind cover, she glanced along the sides of the hill. There was nothing else between them and the patrol; just a long stretch of flat, browning grass, as the approaching winter chill gripped the hillside in its icy fist. It wasn't snowing yet, but it would be soon. They could all feel it.

"Shinoa, what do we do?" Yuu whispered to her. She heard him but did not respond, instead looking at the map for the millionth time, her breath slightly fogging before her.

Finally she bared her teeth and shoved the map back into her pocket. There was nothing to be done. They could only wait until the patrol passed. It wasn't as if those humans were guarding the entrance to the city; in fact, she doubted they even knew about it. The spot she had chosen was so remote that she had hoped it would totally undefended, but her luck with such things had never been very good to begin with.

She turned her back to the wall of bushes and leaned against it, settling in for the long wait. Her elbow was smushed against Yuu's stomach and Mitsuba's leg was thrown haphazardly over her body, not that she really minded. The day was cold and her friends were warm.

Pushing a smoky breath out through her nose, she observed each of her teammates in turn. They had all decided to wear their JIDA uniforms today, in hopes of blending in should it become necessary. Krul, who lacked anything less conspicuous, was dressed in muted colors. A human wardrobe, on a vampire noble. You didn't get to see that every day.

Krul found her eyes, and raised a single eyebrow. "Something on your mind, Hiiragi?"

Shinoa smiled and shook her head, playing absentmindedly with her minimized scythe. "I was just thinking…that I really do keep some strange company."

The vampire chuckled softly under her breath. "That I cannot contest. It seems that you resemble your sister in that way as well."

The sergeant blinked. "Do I resemble her in other ways?"

Krul merely shrugged. "Yes and no. I will admit you are not very alike in disposition. But you both had your priorities in order. And you both dared to do things."

Shinoa hummed. "Maybe, after this is all over, you can tell me a thing or two about my sister."

The noble shrugged again. "I wouldn't mind. I don't know if there is much I can tell you, though."

Shinoa just shook her head. "No. If anything, you probably knew her better than I did."

Krul regarded her strangely after that, but before the vampire could say anything Kimizuki spoke over her.

"What _is_ the plan after this is over, anyway?" he asked. The boy was crushed between Yuu and Mitsuba, and looked less than happy about it. "You know, just out of curiosity."

"Well, for now, we're rendezvousing back at the manor once we leave the city," Shinoa said. "After that…well…"

Yuu smiled. "I guess we'll figure it out when we get there."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, and Kimizuki just sighed. "Some sergeant you are."

"Other sergeants wouldn't have followed you all the way here," Shinoa said simply. Before Kimizuki could retort, however, Yoichi waved for their attention.

"They're moving again," he whispered, peeking through the bushes.

Shinoa pushed some branches aside and saw that the archer was right; the patrol had gotten to its feet and was now heading off the other side of the hill, probably to their next lookout spot.

"Let's move now, before someone else comes along," she murmured.

They slipped out from behind their tentative cover, stealing their way up the hill as quickly as they could. Shinoa motioned from the front for everyone to keep their profiles as low as possible; someone could still spot them scaling the knoll from a distance.

The mist was still clinging to the hillside, however, and they were able to use it as cover until they reached the top.

There was another thick clump of bushes here, which Mika and Krul quickly went about removing. They pushed the plants aside with their hands, digging deeper until they revealed a small metal hatch placed in the center of the hilltop.

Reaching down, Mika pulled the metal hatch open, revealing a ladder set into the wall that stretched as far down as the eye could see.

"Jesus," Yuu blanched, staring at what was effectively a service chute. "Is that it?"

"What, were you expecting a chauffeur?" Shinoa asked dryly, hopping down and helping the vampires keep the hatch braced open.

" _No._ But look at that thing. It's tiny."

"You've just got to believe, Yuu. Isn't that what you told me?"

"I'm not entirely sure if this applies."

"Well," Krul said, "It seems that this is goodbye, for now."

"If things go as planned, we should see each other again by the end of the day," Yuu assured her, hopping into the small dip in the hill where the hatch was placed.

As Krul nodded in agreement, Kimizuki motioned to Mitsuba, and the two of them grabbed the bushes for Mika and Krul, allowing the two vampires a moment to themselves.

Once freed, they regarded each other at the top of the hill for a long stretch of time, servant to master, young to old. To Mika, Krul looked almost intangible before him, with the flat gray of the sky and the roiling mist floating broodingly by. It felt like they were above the clouds, in another world, where time meant nothing and Krul might not even exist.

It wasn't a particularly good thought. The vampire noble then did something rather unexpected; she opened up her arms, in the universal gesture of asking for a hug.

Mika stared at her skeptically, thinking a handshake or a bow would have been more appropriate, but indulged his superior nonetheless. He stepped into her embrace, and Krul surprise him again by hugging him fiercely, dragging him close to her body so she could whisper into his ear.

"Don't forget why you fought your way here, Mikaela," she said softly, so only he could hear. "We will see each other again."

As they pulled back from each other, Mika looked Krul in the eye and nodded once, firmly, trying to put everything into that one single movement.

The vampire seemed to understand, and she smiled before patting him on the head, and then they separated.

"I will protect your friends and the Seraph to the best of my ability, Hiiragi," Krul said, turning back to Shinoa, who was standing by the open hatch. "So I would ask you do the same for me, and keep a watchful eye over Mikaela."

"I can take care of myself…" Mika muttered, but looked bashfully away when Krul shot him a stern look.

Shinoa laughed softly. "You have my word, Krul. You will see Mika again. And call me Shinoa, would you?"

The noble smiled so her fangs poked out, and she extended her hand down towards the sergeant.

"It's a deal."

The two shook hands, and the matter was settled.

"See you in a bit, idiot Yuu," Mitsuba said, as the rest of Shinoa's group clambered down to the hatch. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Do I ever?"

The blonde just snorted at that, and Yoichi laughed sheepishly, approaching the edge of the dip and peeking over it.

"Good luck, Yuu," he whispered, waving down at his friend. "Tell Guren hi for me, okay?"

The swordsman grinned. "With any luck, you can tell him yourself!"

Thinking that they couldn't afford to idle here for much longer, Mika decided to climb into the hatch first, but not before Kimizuki called out to him.

"Mika."

The vampire's ears twitched at the use of his nickname, but he just looked back up, meeting the other boy's eyes. "Yes?"

Kimizuki seemed to squirm in place, a rarity for him, and the rest of the team looked on curiously as he seemed to search for words. "I just…wanted to say thanks. For last night," he said at last, clenching his fists. "And I wish you luck. Give 'em hell, you hear?"

Mika smiled back. "I'll do my best. Thanks, Kimizuki."

Shinoa whistled at their exchange, elbowing Yuu in the side suggestively. "Hey, what do you think he meant by 'last night?'"

"Honestly, I don't want to know," Yuu sighed, then pushed Mika aside so he could climb in first.

While Kimizuki was busy flushing over his poor word choice, Shinoa climbed down into the tube after Yuu, stopping just as her head was about to be swallowed by the darkness.

"Well, this is it, everybody," she said, giving them all a mock salute. "See you all on the other side?"

"Will do," they all murmured, saluting back. Shinoa smiled and disappeared into the hole.

"See you guys," Mika said, as he entered the hatch last, though he had initially been first. "And hey, be nice to your sister, alright?"

Kimizuki just sneered playfully back at him. "Don't miss a step and fall, idiot."

 _What a horrible thought,_ Mika said to himself, before climbing down into the hatch. Krul grabbed the lid and threw it down after him.

It closed with an ominous boom, and they were swallowed by the darkness.

* * *

Ferid was beginning to think bringing Lest Karr to Japan was a mistake.

"My liege, please," the seventh progenitor pleaded, striding hastily after his king, who was stalking even faster ahead of him. The kid was fast, despite his shorter stature.

"No, Ferid. Don't try to dissuade me," Lest said darkly, his shoes clacking on the stone flooring. Ferid was currently following him through the bowels of Tenebris-Lux, as the king was scheduled to make a speech before his troops in due time. The young king had given much thought to what he was going to say to his men, but now here Ferid was trying to rain on his parade.

"My lord, the implications of this plan…" Ferid tried again, jogging at this point to keep up with his superior. "I feel that it was laid out too hastily. Executing it without proper testing could lead to undesired effects-"

"And what, pray tell, are we supposed to test it on?" Lest asked sardonically, not slowing his pace. "If you can find another underground city devoid of vampires in Japan, please tell me! Otherwise, we are moving forward with this plan. It is both the best and only option we have."

As the young king swept ahead of him, his cape flowing in his wake, Ferid gritted his teeth and decided to hold his tongue. He could tell Lest wasn't going to take no for an answer this time. Lest answered to no one in this territory to begin with.

A light appeared at the far end of the hall, and soon they both emerged out onto a small balcony overlooking a hangar deep inside the bowels of the city.

It was a vast, open space, filled with dozens of vampires milling about in order to carry out there many individual tasks. The hangar was littered with various forms of military equipment; crates of combat capes and uniforms, racks lined with second class vampire weapons. Some of the vampires on the ground level were carefully inspecting the piles of material, taking inventory in preparation of tomorrow's planned deployment.

"Do you still plan to move out in the morning?" Ferid asked tentatively, an ill look on his face.

Lest placed his hands on the balcony railing as he observed his men. "Of course."

"The generals might not be ready by then."

"If they value their lives, they will be," Lest replied bluntly. "In any case, the size of our armies is of little consequence in the coming battle. I certainly don't plan to retake Sanguinem through sheer force."

Ferid allowed himself a half relieved sigh. At least the young king hadn't gone completely off the rails yet. It seemed he still had his sound military sense. Not that this put him entirely at ease.

"And yet, the alternative…" the seventh progenitor murmured, turning his gaze to the far end of the hangar. "I had always perceived your style to be more…subtle."

Lest huffed in mild scorn. "Times have changed, and so must I. Though I also would have preferred a quieter strategy, this is the best we can do. General Rommel! I want everything ready by dawn tomorrow!"

As the young king's voice echoed to the hangar below the balcony, a vampire with a slightly different dress saluted in response, along with several other soldiers from his company. Lest nodded in satisfaction and turned away from the balcony, his cape floating haughtily behind him.

"Come, Ferid. You don't want to miss this, do you?"

It seemed that Ferid's eyes had changed in the single moment where Lest drew level with him. As he watched the young king stride past, a confident smile gracing his face, he thought that Lest did not seem as collected and powerful as he had during their past meetings. He wondered why that was. Just what determined the gravitas of an individual.

For in that tiny moment, Ferid saw not a great king or an inspiring leader. He did not see the fearful conquerer he had summoned to Japan in hopes of shaking the pot once again. Instead he saw someone definitively younger than himself, a child, someone driven by the petty desire for revenge and a desire to be assured indestructibility.

Something bounced off Lest's chest as the vampire walked, drawing Ferid's gaze. It was Krul's severed finger, the one Lest had torn off during their fight, after which the fallen queen had escaped his clutches. He had had the finger retrieved and laced so he could wear it as a trophy. But what reward was there in defeat? Lest had not won that fight. And yet he wore Krul's finger around his neck, as if in pride.

At last Lest disappeared back into the corridor, and Ferid made to follow him. Before he did, however, he turned back and looked across the hangar once again.

There, just out of sight, hidden by the shifting bodies of many vampires. A wooden crate containing an explosive weapon taken from the humans many years ago.

Exhaling loudly through his nose, Ferid turned his back on the bomb and followed his king.

 _A pity. I was always rather fond of Sanguinem…_

* * *

A boot landed squarely on top of Yuu's head seemingly out of nowhere.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing at the spot as he continued to climb down the chute. "Watch your step, would you?"

"I would if I could," Shinoa complained, the sound of her voice floating down from above him. "But it's pitch black in here."

That he could not contest; there was zero light inside the chute after Krul had closed the lid on them. Luckily they were only heading straight down for now, but Yuu hoped they would find some light soon.

"I have matches," Mika offered, feeling around in his pockets. "If you want I could toss you some."

"That sounds like a good idea," Yuu agreed, coming to a stop on the ladder. "We should-"

"No way! No matches in here!" Shinoa exclaimed, kicking Yuu in the head, purposefully this time.

"Ow! Why the hell not?"

"I'm in a skirt! You'll see everything!"

"Shinoa. We are in the middle of an _underground vampiric stronghold_ and you're giving me grief about me seeing up your skirt?"

"I mean…yes?"

"Guys!" Mika shouted from above them both, obviously frustrated. "Matches or no matches?"

"No matches!" Shinoa insisted, jabbing at him with her other foot.

"Alright, fine. Jesus. No matches," Yuu grumbled, before recommencing the long climb down, his hands sliding across the metal ladder.

They descended in silence for the next several minutes, and Yuu could only hear the sound of their shoes clicking against the ladder rungs. He had complained about it earlier, but it really was small and cramped inside the chute; if he stuck his elbows out to the side they struck the walls. His sword kept banging against the ladder too, and he ended up keeping one hand over it as they continued to go down, praying he wouldn't slip and plummet to his death.

"How much longer do you figure?" Mika called down to them, some time later.

 _Hell if I know_ , Yuu thought, glancing down. Not that it did him much good; he couldn't see shit. They had been descending for several minutes now, but everything felt exactly the same as when they had begun. They could have been going in circles this whole time, for all he knew.

"I hope we find a way out of this thing soon," Shinoa murmured softly from above. "I don't like the dark."

"At least no one can see up your skirt," Yuu snarked, before narrowly dodging another blind kick from the sergeant.

"Weren't you the one who picked this entrance?" Mika pointed out, ever the voice of reason.

"I didn't think it was going to be a literal _rabbit hole._ "

Yuu was about to say something passive aggressive again himself, but stopped when he felt it.

Shinoa's boot pressed down on his shoulder, and the entire line stopped above Yuu, as the sergeant looked below curiously. Not that anyone could see that. "Something wrong, Yuu?"

"There. Do you guys feel that?" the swordsman asked, holding his hand out to his side. The faint brush of something moving. Friction against his skin. "An air current."

Mika spread out his fingers for a moment, then blinked. "You're right. There must be some sort of opening nearby."

"Mika. Matches," Yuu said, banging on the side of the chute for emphasis. "Sorry, Shinoa. I promise I won't look."

"You'd better not," Shinoa pouted, as the blond passed a box of matches to her. She passed it to Yuu, who took it with both hands, leaning his back against the side of the chute. He didn't want to drop them.

Fishing one of the matches out of the box, he scratched it against the back, and watched as a small flame ignited before him. Holding the stick between his fingertips, he leaned down as far as he dared and held the light out, searching for the source of the air current.

"If there are any combustible gases in this chute, we are literally screwed," Shinoa said suddenly, as if it had just occurred to her.

"Why do you have to say things like that?" Mika grumbled.

"Sorry."

"Guys, down there," Yuu said, pointing with his other hand. Several feet below them, the chute opened up in another horizontal direction before continuing straight down. "That could lead us somewhere."

He snuffed the match and stuffed the box into his pocket, clambering down towards the new opening. When they reached it he ignited another match, holding it inside the horizontal opening as far as he could reach.

"Well?" Mika asked. "See anything?"

"Hold on…" Yuu said softly, then blew out the match. The light did not disappear, however; more light was pouring in from somewhere else. "This way. There's an exit through here."

He abandoned the ladder and crawled into the horizontal vent headfirst, lowering his head so he wouldn't bump it. This tunnel was a little wider than the last one, but he still had to shuffled along on his hands and knees. His back was going to feel this in the morning.

"Say, Mika, mind going first?" he heard Shinoa's voice somewhere behind him.

"Um…why?"

"You know why."

"…Oh."

Yuu ignored them and kept on crawling, chasing the light in the distance. It was close, so close that he could nearly touch it. A gridded pattern, like some sort of vent maybe, or a wall panel.

Finally he reached the source of the light, dragging his body forward until he was laying alongside it. The light was leaking through what looked like some sort of air filter, with a set of small screws set into the metal around its perimeter. They didn't look particularly strong, however, and he went about trying to get his fingers under it, tugging at the panel with all his might.

"What are you doing?" Shinoa whispered from behind him.

"Trying to get…our…bearings," Yuu grunted, giving one final tug.

The panel came loose at last, and he tossed it aside before sticking his head out of the newly created opening, sucking in a breath of relatively fresh air.

His victory was short lived, however, when he happened to look down.

Far. A long, _long_ drop to the bottom of…some great big abyss. When he looked up again he realized he was far, _far_ above the main ground level of the city, several hundred meters above it, a distance so staggeringly great he couldn't even see where his body would land if he were unlucky enough to fall. He turned his head to the side, and it at last occurred to him that they had been inside a complex network of pipes that ran alongside the wall of the great chasm, pegged to it by nothing more than a few not so strong looking pikes.

"Yuu, what's going on out there?" Mika asked, breaking the boy's reverie.

Yuu blinked, then suddenly realized he was at the utter verge of a _very_ long drop, and scrambled back into the air vent, pushing Shinoa and Mika back in the process.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mika snapped, grabbing his brother's ankle to stop him. "What did you see out there? Where are we?"

"Um…" Yuu said smoothly, swallowing thickly. "Well, first of all, we have a lot more descending to do."

He peeked outside of the vent again, this time looking at the many buildings far below them, and realized he recognized what he saw. It made sense. He had spent many years living in this very city. Seeing it again made him feel somewhat nostalgic, though not in a good way, since he had never actually enjoyed being here.

"I have my bearings," he said, motioning for his friends to go back. "After we reach ground level, I'll be able to navigate my way around the city."

"Oh, dear," Shinoa sighed, as they all began to shuffled backwards out of the vent. "To think we're actually going to have to rely on Yuu's sense of direction."

"You can wait up here if you want."

"Alright, sorry."

* * *

Yukimi felt like she had just been given a gift she had wanted for a long time.

That didn't fully encompass the extent of her feelings at the moment, however. It was sort of like she had just received a much wanted gift, but the box had been dunked in honey before being handed to her, making the act of reception much more uncomfortable than it needed to be. In other words, she had gotten something she thought she wanted, but it ended up being less desirable than she had imagined, like a knife that looked well made but was actually made of plastic.

…She wasn't very good with metaphors.

Shigure Yukimi was sitting in the stone palace that rested in the center of Sanguinem, inside the final room at the far end of the western wing. Upon the JIDA's encroachment of the vampire city, it had been necessary to decide who would get to live where. Since the palace was obviously the most extravagant place around, it had been designated for the use of the most high ranking officers. Strategy meetings were held in the throne room, and she had heard rumors that Kureto Hiiragi sat on the throne while the generals bickered amongst themselves. She would believe it, anyway.

Regardless, it wasn't a place for someone of her standing to be in, even if she was a second lieutenant. The Shigure clan was merely a servant family to the Ichinose clan, after all, and there weren't any Ichinoses living inside the palace.

Except for one.

Yukimi shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Guren poured some tea for the both of them, trying to decide between looking at her commander and looking at the floor. She settled for the latter, and felt a flush gently creeping up her face as Guren took a seat behind his desk, which she was currently seated in front of.

"You don't have to be so nervous, you know," Guren said, smiling gently. "Mahiru isn't here right now. It's just me."

Yukimi looked up with a start, her blush worsening. "I…I wasn't thinking about that!"

"Oh?" Her commander tasted his tea before continuing. "What were you thinking about, then?"

The assassin bit her lip, trying to find a careful way to word her thoughts. It wasn't something she was used to doing. Being around Guren used to be so easy. "It's just that…no one in your company has been able to see you for a long time, Guren…"

It had been an ordinary day until she was summoned to visit the palace. Or at least, as ordinary as a day in an underground city could get. She had been laying on her bed, staring at the stone ceiling and wondering when the army was going to advance. They had been rooted in Sanguinem for months, and there was no news of future mobilization. Then again, she had never seen any paths that led out of the city below the surface. Perhaps they simply did not know where to go?

As she mulled over this, there was a knock on the door to her quarters, which was strange enough on its own. None of her friends would have bothered.

"Come in?" she called tentatively, rising from the bed.

A young looking messenger walked in, surprising her by saying she had been summoned to visit the lieutenant colonel in the palace in one hour.

She had been shocked, undoubtedly, but she obviously accepted the offer.

Guren smiled again and set his cup down, by a small record player that was playing some soft jazz music. Guren loved jazz music. This she knew; it comforted her, in a way, as it somewhat assured her that this was indeed the real Guren, and not the demon who shared his soul.

"I'll admit I've been a bit preoccupied lately," he said, leaning into his chair. "That bastard Kureto keeps my schedule packed all day. Why? Did you not want to see me?"

Yukimi blinked, caught off guard. "No, of course not! It's just…why me? Or why _just_ me? What about the rest of the Moon Demons?"

Guren closed his eyes, and for the first time he looked genuinely tired. It wasn't an expression he wore often, or at least not one he allowed his subordinates to see. "I felt it would be difficult to face all of you at once. So you have me to blame for that. But I didn't just choose you randomly, Shigure. There was a reason why you were summoned."

Yukimi raised her eyebrows. "And that is?"

"I wanted to…apologize," the lieutenant colonel said awkwardly, clearing his throat in the middle. "For what happened a few weeks ago."

The assassin remembered what had happened some time ago, in the courtyard when she had called out to him while he was being possessed, and felt her blush returning. "Oh…no, you don't have to worry. I'm not angry."

"Not just for that," Guren amended, pushing his hair back, like he was irritated at himself. "I'm just making excuses. I know it's been hard on all of you these past few months. I haven't been around to look after you all, and half the time I'm battling my own demons…I'm a failure as your commander."

The man fell silent then, staring hard at the bare desk sitting between them. Yukimi stared down into her own tea, which she hadn't touched yet, gazing at her reflection in the tinted water. Then she looked up at the desk, a wall that separated two distinct possibilities. Was it possible for her to break that wall? If she closed her eyes and let her imagination roam free, she could almost see Mahiru sitting on the desk between them, her malicious gaze stealing the assassin's words.

Her heart ached for this man. She had never told Guren how much she loved him; but in this moment she almost wanted to. She wanted him to know he wasn't alone in this, that she and the rest of the Moon Demons all cared deeply for him. But she knew she wouldn't say it loud. She wasn't very good with words, and besides, words weren't enough to protect those one loved. Guren knew that well.

Still, she had to try.

"I don't think that's true," she said softly, sipping at the tea when Guren looked over at her. "You might have left us behind for now, Guren, but we'll always be waiting for you. We'll always be ready to help you when you call for us. Nobody would do that for a bad commander. So I don't think you are a failure."

Guren watched her for a long time, then broke into a brief chuckle. He reached over and moved the needle off the record, stopping the soft flow of music.

"That's my Shigure. Always so kind, despite your exterior," he said, meeting the girls eyes with his own. She found she could not return his gaze for long. "I hope you guys know I'm always thinking about you, even if I can't show it."

"There are others too, aren't there?" Yukimi asked, stirring her tea. "Hyakuya Yuuichiro and his friends."

"Them too," Guren agreed, falling back into his chair. He swiveled it to the side and gazed out of a hole cut into the stone wall, apparently meant to serve as a sort of window. "You guys are all my family. I just don't have you all in one place yet. But maybe, when this is all over…I'll go looking for him."

"And the Moon Demons will be there to support you," Yukimi finished, downing the last of her tea.

Guren smiled again, a welcome sight. "Right. I appreciate that. We-"

He stopped speaking suddenly, prompting her to glance up and see that a strange look had crossed her commander's face. He looked almost stricken, like he had discovered something that should not exist.

"Guren?" she asked worriedly, rising from her seat.

The man held up his hand, stopping the girls where she was, putting the other against his face. "No. It's nothing. I just thought I sensed something strange."

"Should I fetch a doctor?" Yukimi asked fretfully.

But Guren shook his head, waving his free hand in the air. "No, no. I'm fine, really. Go back to your quarters for now. I might summon you again later."

The assassin looked down at her commander with a conflicted look on her face, but at last gave in an decided to obey his orders. Yet another enemy she couldn't fight for him. There were too many of those.

"Then I will take my leave," she murmured, backing away from the desk and approaching the door. "Thank you for the tea," she said softly, turning back.

Guren just waved her wordlessly away, and she exited out into the fall, the door clicking shut behind her.

As she made her way back to her quarters, she thought about the strange look on Guren's face in that moment.

Almost like he had recognized an old friend.

* * *

"I don't like this," Ferid muttered under his breath.

He was walking through the heart of a wide underground tunnel, far beneath the surface of the earth. Behind him, the footsteps of dozens of soldiers could be heard, filling the stone walls with their ambience. It was nearly black inside the lightless tunnel, but with his enhanced vision he was more or less able to see where he was going.

"Oh, I know you don't, Ferid," Crowley Eusford murmured beside him, matching the vampire step for step. "You don't like anything. But you'll have to be more specific."

"Don't be glib," Ferid snapped, swatting Crowley with the map he was holding in his hands. The thirteenth progenitor just laughed, further irking him. It seemed that no matter what happened, Crowley was always in a good mood. "I mean that I don't like this plan."

Crowley hummed thoughtfully under his breath. Behind them, the soldiers continued to follow in marching form. "Well, I will admit that it's more gutsy than I expected of Lord Karr. But honestly, what else could we do in this situation?"

 _Nothing, preferably,_ Ferid sighed to himself, but he knew that wasn't a real option either. Given enough time, the humans would discover the secret network of tunnels that ran beneath Sanguinem. And once the humans had found those, they would be able to access nearly every other vampiric city in Japan. Lest's army had reached Sanguinem all the way from Tenebris-Lux through these very tunnels.

"I'm not trying to say this doesn't sound like a bad idea," Ferid started carefully, then decided to ditch the facade of political correctness. "Actually, no. This _is_ a bad idea."

He held up his hand in the air, and the soldiers behind them came to a halt, standing quietly at attention. Well, at least Ferid could admit Lest had trained them well.

"General Rommel," he called out, and the vampire stepped forward to meet him. Ferid handed him the map and pointed at very spots he had marked on it. "We've reached the planting spot. Set up at these locations and contact me when you've finished."

"Yes, my lord," the general said, saluting before heading off to relay Ferid's orders. Erwin Rommel was a noble as well, but he was only a twentieth progenitor, and powerful only in name. He had a fairly good head on his shoulders though, and for that reason he had been named general.

"That's great and all," Crowley said, his voice echoing off the walls of the cave they had stopped in. "But is it really alright to leave the bomb sitting by itself out here?"

"The humans don't know about these tunnels yet," Ferid said dismissively, crossing his arms as he watched his men work. "By the time they do know, it'll be too late."

Crowley frowned to himself as he watched the soldiers flit about the cave, setting smaller explosive charges against columns of rock that were holding the ceiling above them up.

"You know…I'm actually starting to get a bad feeling about this."

"You don't say?"

* * *

To say that Kimizuki was nervous would be an understatement.

They had reached the eastern entrance with little difficulty; since it was so far from the western one, he had decided to return to the city before emerging again from the right most side, so that they wouldn't be exposed on the hills while crossing over. The path to the entrance was completely unguarded from there, and they were able to enter it without being seen.

The eastern entrance started out looking much like the western one. A small hole in the ground led straight down, and Kimizuki opted to climb down first, though he didn't know what might be waiting for him at the bottom. Eventually the ladder ended, however, and the entrance leveled out into a wide cave that they all managed to drop safely into.

"Looks like we aren't going back that way," Mitsuba said darkly, looking up at the end of the ladder several feet above them. Krul had jumped down first and caught the other three as they fell, since at this height it was more than enough to hurt them.

"That isn't the plan anyway," Kimizuki shrugged, checking his watch. They had over an hour left before rendezvous. "Come on. Let's get moving."

He dug a flashlight out of his pocket and clicked it on, taking point as he led the group down the yawning tunnel that opened up before them. The walls were composed of jagged, toothy stone, and the ground beneath their boots felt slight wet. There must be a subterranean river down here.

"So, Krul," he said tentatively, keeping his eyes pointed forward. "I'm assuming you know where we are right now?"

The third progenitor glanced about the walls of the tunnel, as if she could see something he could not. Actually, this was probably the case. "More or less. The path should diverge soon. Once it does, we should go left."

Sure enough, a few minutes later the tunnel split into two smaller pathways, and Kimizuki promptly took the leftmost side. Their boots echoed emptily off the walls as they walked, and somewhere in the unseen water dripped from the ceiling, mixing with their footsteps.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Mitsuba asked, poking Yoichi in the back. The archer was walking behind Krul with his arms wrapped around his own body, and he looked supremely nervous.

The boy just laughed skittishly when asked, sweating a little from his brow. "I just don't like dark places. Or cramped places. Or wet places."

"Jesus. Is there any place you _do_ like?"

"Um…sunspots?"

"Tch."

Krul smiled unnoticeably as she walked beside Kimizuki, though she stayed out of the path of the flashlight. It wouldn't be good for her skin. When she looked up at the boy, he was staring pointedly ahead, like he didn't want to look at her.

"Would you say the boy's more nervous than your are?" she asked quietly, not really expecting an answer.

Fortunately, she got one. "What?" Kimizuki said bluntly, blinking in confusion.

"I'm saying you need to relax. You're too tense," Krul elaborated. "And I don't relish being led by someone who isn't sound in mind."

"Oh yeah, sure. Relax. I'll just do that," Kimizuki snorted, flicking the flashlight. The light beam bounced across the rocks. "I'm only about to save my sister turned angel from an army of people who want my head on a pike. Nothing to it. Should be easy."

Krul raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the boy's sarcastic tone. She didn't particularly need him to treat her with respect, but it had been a long time since someone addressed her so crudely. Mikaela was always reserved around her, and Hiiragi Shinoa seemed courteous by nature. Even Hyakuya Yuuichiro hadn't talked to her in such a manner.

Well, this boy seemed a bit more cynical than the rest of them, so she would try to bear with it.

"I did not mean that you should disregard the gravity of the situation either," she amended. "There is a difference between calmness and ignorance."

"I'm afraid you won't find either in me," Kimizuki said blandly, shoving his free hand into his pocket. "If I run into Kureto while we're down here I'll probably try to kill him."

Krul found herself smiling again at that. "You'd do anything for your sister, wouldn't you?"

The boy was quiet for several steps. By then she assumed the conversation over, but he surprised her by speaking on his own this time.

"A lot of people have let me down in this life. She hasn't."

Selfless compassion. Something she had only had a taste of so far. Krul had yet to decide if it was an emotion that benefited or hurt her. Sometimes it motivated her to do more than she thought she was capable of. Other times it caused her to think irrationally. There was a fine line there that most people failed to walk.

"She is fortunate to have such a caring brother," she said at last. It felt like a properly neutral thing to say.

But Kimizuki just smiled wryly and shook his head. The boy really was strange, even for a human.

"If I had cared more none of this would have happened," he said simply, in a way that suggested the conversation was over. "This is just me making amends."

That was another thing about compassion. It made one blame himself for circumstances beyond his control.

Kimizuki shut off the flashlight, and Krul looked up to find that a faint light had appeared at the far end of the tunnel.

"Oh, good," Yoichi said shakily, in a tone she couldn't discern as purely scared or relieved. "A bigger cave."

Though he was less verbal about it, Kimizuki felt his eyes widening in awe as they stepped into the light.

They emerged from the tunnel to find themselves standing on a small cliffside that hugged the side of a massive chasm, one so large that a carbon copy of Sanguinem could have fit inside of it. The ceiling was so high up that it actually disappeared from view, vanishing into the shifting darkness, and the ground was so far down that it gave him vertigo to look at it, and he had to step back from the edge of the cliff for fear of teetering off it.

That wasn't the most impressive thing about the lower levels of Sanguinem, however; the center of the chasm was dominated by a massive pillar of pale stone that rose from floor to ceiling, connecting the two like the trunk of a great tree. The pillar must have been a mile across in diameter alone, and it was so thick that the vampires had been able to drill holes into it, if the bright yellow lights burning from inside were of any indication.

"What the hell is that thing?" Kimizuki muttered, hunkering down just in case someone could see them. There were some men standing around on ground level far below, but he couldn't see everything yet.

"One of the greater engineering feats of my race," Krul explained, crouching down beside him. "The stone in that pillar is so strong that our architects were able to carve out living spaces inside of it. When I used to live here we called it the Stone Tree, and though it is not the only one of its kind, it is the most impressive."

Kimizuki peeked around again and saw that what Krul said was true; there were several other massive stone pillars littering the chasm, each with their own bright lights glowing from inside of them, but none quiet so large as the Stone Tree. From all the way up here it felt like he was looking at some primitive village far underground. In fact that was exactly what this was; the twinkling lights and the tiny figures of people gave off the definite air of civilization, one that clashed with the ruggedness of the rocks said civilization had been hewn out of.

"So I'm guessing that they're keeping my sister in the big one?" he asked, ducking back behind cover.

"That would be my assumption as well," Krul agreed. "Under my rule we mostly utilized the lower levels for secure storage, or detainment of criminals if necessary. We kept the livestock…excuse me, the humans, at the city level. The Stone Tree is best equipped for containing something of the Seraph's caliber. It also has a path leading directly up to the city, which would be useful in the event that the Seraph needs to be deployed."

"I feel like unleashing the Seraph all the way down here would be a pretty bad idea…" Mitsuba muttered, eyeing the spearlike stalactites hanging from the ceiling. They were all taller than her. "I mean, unless you're trying to sink this whole place into the ground."

"Well, let's try to avoid doing that," Kimizuki sighed. "Krul, do you know a way to the Stone Tree that we can take without being seen?"

The vampire nodded. "There is a spot on the other side of the Tree that falls beneath the shadow of another pillar. If we enter while hidden by that shadow, we should be able to remain undetected."

Kimizuki nodded and allowed Krul to take the lead, following her down a rocky path that led down from the cliffside. He turned to look at the Stone Tree one last time, at the small yellow light burning at its highest point.

 _I'm coming, Mirai._

* * *

Though she had been happy that Guren had finally summoned her, Yukimi didn't feel very happy anymore. Instead she felt unsatisfied, like something had been left unfinished. It was good that her commander was finally choosing to share some things with her, but they were still no closer to being able to actually help him.

She felt so useless.

Yukimi must have looked slightly depressed when she returned to her living quarters, because Mito gave her a weird look when she walked in.

"Something wrong?" the redhead asked, putting down her book. Yukimi crossed over to her own bed without answering, grabbing the top bunk and staring at nothing.

She hadn't decided whether or not she should tell the others about being summoned yet. What point would it serve if she did? She had gained nothing from their conversation, even if she had enjoyed it.

"Shigure-san?" Sayuri was sitting on her own bed, looking over at her. "Are you okay?"

Finally the assassin sighed, letting her head sag down between her arms. "I'm fine. I just…wish we had a way to help master Guren somehow."

The other two girls exchanged glances, equally troubled.

"Well…what do you think we could do?" Sayuri asked honestly.

Yukimi pressed her forehead against the top bunk. What, indeed? Would they have to destroy Guren's sword? Was that what it took to free him? But releasing Mahiru's demon on their own might prove to be even more troublesome. People could die.

No matter what angle she looked at it from, there didn't seem to be a viable answer that she could see. It both baffled and infuriated her; she was a trained assassin, someone gifted in the art of alternative solutions, and yet she was incapable of saving the man she loved. What more was it going to take? What else did she have left to sacrifice? How much longer would this suffering last?

"Do I have to beg the answer to just fall out of the sky?" she whispered harshly.

Mito blinked. "What?"

Just then, there was a great banging noise from behind the wall of their room, on the side where a small air vent led out into the central chimney. As all three of the room's residents turned towards the noise, it grew even louder, descending downwards as if something large and very heavy were tumbling down towards them.

Finally there was a great crash as the filter holding the vent closed was blown open, and three bedraggled figures tumbled out onto the floor of their room, bringing in a great plume of dust with them.

A painful fit of coughing immediately rose from the smallest person in the group, a young girl who was covered in dust from head to toe, as were her comrades.

"Jesus christ, Yuu! I told you to watch your step!"

"You were the one who kicked me without looking!"

"That was an accident! You can't honestly expect me to be able to see in that amount of…oh, look. We have company."

Yuu whirled around with his sword drawn, no questions asked, and Yukimi felt her body moving before her mind could. Two seconds later she had several daggers held in her hands, Mito had leapt off her bed with her fists at the ready, and Sayuri dropped everything in order to pull out her own blade from its rack on the wall.

One blink of an eye later and everyone had their weapons out, as the three intruders pressed back to back in the center of the room, surrounded on all sides.

"Was this part of your plan?" the small female asked sardonically, holding her scythe horizontally in both hands.

"Shut up."

Wait…with their faces covered in dust, it was difficult to tell at first, but…

Yukimi felt her hands lowering as she stepped forward.

"Hyakuya-san," she breathed, "Is that you?"

"Um, yes?" the boy said skeptically, then recognition swept across his face. "Wait, Shigure san?"

"Oh, how delightful," Shinoa remarked. "What a small world."

"No way," Mito murmured in disbelief, her fists going slack. "Of all the people it could have been…"

"Before we continue this, would you mind lowering your weapons?" Shinoa asked pointedly, making everyone in the room blink subconsciously.

"Right, sorry," Mito said, lowering her hands. "Actually, no. How the hell are you guys still alive?"

Shinoa just shrugged in a way that said _It's a long story_ before putting her own scythe away. Yuu sheathed his sword, as did Mika, though the vampire remained standing in a defensive stance, as he was the least disposed to trust anyone in this room at the moment.

Once everyone had put there weapons away Yukimi stepped forward, until she was standing in front of Yuu.

"Hyakuya-san," she murmured, reaching out to touch his shoulder, as if to affirm he was real. "No one has seen you or your squad in over five months."

"Well, being seen by anyone would have been pretty troublesome," Yuu pointed out. "It took us a long time to get here in one piece."

Yukimi looked over at Sayuri, who was watching the entire spectacle with a conflicted look on her face, then at Mito, who looked equally confused. She supposed she ought to be as surprised as them, but she had always been better at handling unexpected situations.

"And why, pray tell, have you come all the way here?" she asked, looking the boy squarely in the eye. "I would have thought you would remain on the run. How did you manage to enter the city to begin with?"

Yuu looked back at Shinoa and Mika, who just shrugged back in response. Apparently they expected him to do all the talking.

"We found an unguarded entrance and managed to sneak in through there," he explained, earning a raised eyebrow from the female assassin. "As for why we came…we're here for Guren. To save him."

A disturbed silence fell upon the room at those words, and the members of the Moon Demon company exchanged glances for the third time.

"So let me get this straight," Yukimi said seriously. "You seceded from the JIDA, spent five months on the run, came all the way back, then snuck into Sanguinem…all so you could have a chance at rescuing Guren?"

"Well, we had some other business to attend to as well," Shinoa answered. "But more or less, yes. That's why we're here."

"Shigure-san, we need your help," Yuu broke in, an intense look in his eye. "We need to know where Guren is and how we can reach him. Otherwise we'll never be able to find him."

"I…" the assassin backed up a few steps, looking at her friends for some support. This was all too much, too soon. It was overwhelming.

At last Mito sighed, walking up behind Yukimi and putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Look, guys," she said, keeping her voice low in case someone in the other room could hear them. "I admire how far you've come for Guren's sake. I really do. But you all must realize that this is a suicide mission you're all walking into. The mere fact that you're here right now is crazy already."

The members of Shinoa's squad shifted nervously, glancing at each other. Behind them, Sayuri maintained her silence.

"Getting to Guren is one thing," the redhead continued. "Convincing him to come with you and then escaping is another. And I don't know where the rest of your friends are, but if they're somewhere else in this city right now they're in even more danger than you are. Someone could get hurt. You could all die. Do you realize this?"

Yukimi bit her lip at Mito's words, even if they rang true. Attempting to infiltrate Sanguinem with a ragtag bunch of teenagers was far from a sound strategy. But for some reasons she wished the redhead would stop.

Once Mito was done talking Yuu raised his head, meeting the woman's gaze head on.

"We were all made aware of the risks," he said earnestly. "We all came here knowing we might not make it out. But we came anyway. And whether we have your help or not, we're going after Guren. It's too late to turn back now."

A tense silence reigned supreme as Yuu engaged in a staring back with Mito. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, their wills unwavering, and the rest of them could only watch with baited breath, wondering who would crumble first.

Finally Mito closed her eyes, an amused smile gracing her lips.

"Well, I'll admit you've got guts," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Alright, fine. We'll help you get to Guren."

Yuu blinked. "Really?"

"I can't guarantee anything will come of it," the redhead warned. "But at the very least, we should be able to get you to the palace where he's staying."

"Mito, hold on," Sayuri cut in, advancing until she was standing between her friend and Shinoa's squad. "What are you thinking? We can't help them!"

"Why not? They've come all this way!"

"All the more reason for them to turn around and go back where they came from! They could get killed out there. _We_ could get killed out there."

"At least we've got a place to sleep every night, Sayuri. Those kids don't have anywhere left to go back to."

"It'll only get worse if you help them."

"You don't know that."

"I do. These things never-"

"Sayuri!" Yukimi said harshly, cutting them both off.

Sayuri's words trailed off as both women turned to their friend, who didn't make a habit of shouting during arguments. Usually she was the one who stood in the corner and waited for it to be over.

Yukimi knew this about herself. She was the girl who waited in the shadows until the perfect moment to strike. She was the girl who hid in the shadows when she was too afraid to be exposed until the light. She was the girl who hid her heart in the shadows rather than give it to the man she loved. She had waited her whole life, but this time it wasn't going to help anyone. She had to do something to save Guren, and the answer was here, standing right before them.

"I think that we should help them," she said steadily, meeting her longtime friend's eyes with irises of steel. "Mito's right. They have nothing to go back to. I think they at least deserve a chance to save a member of their family. A member of _our_ family."

Sayuri bit her lip, turning her gaze to the floor, the pain obvious in her expression.

"I just…don't want anyone else to get hurt," she said softly.

Mito put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We know, Sayuri. But sometimes doing nothing is worse than doing something and failing."

The brunette wiped at her eyes and nodded. "I know. Alright. Let's help them. Let's save Guren."

"Sayuri-san…" Shinoa murmured, taken aback by the emotional display. The woman had always been so calm and reserved around her students.

"And when you see him," the woman added, walking up to Shinoa, "I want you to punch him. Hard. Because he deserves it."

The sergeant smiled. "Will do."

"Come on," Yukimi said, digging around in a crate at the foot of her bed. "I have a plan. But we'll have to move quickly."

* * *

"My lord, the preparations are nearly complete," Ferid said, into a small device held in his palm.

 _"Good work, Ferid. Make sure to distance yourself from the blast radius once you're ready."_ Lest's garbled voice filtered in through the speaker of the device. _"Don't set it off until I tell you, though. I want to pull the trigger myself."_

 _I'm sure you do,_ Ferid thought darkly. "Of course. Either Crowley or myself will notify you when the preparations are complete."

 _"Very well."_

The line was cut off on the other end, and Ferid sighed to himself as he stuffed the device back into his pocket.

Crowley walked up to him from the other side of the cave, gesturing somewhere behind him. "Rommel says we'll be ready in about ten minutes."

Ferid nodded and waved him off. Crowley had been busy countering human invasions along the western banks, but had been personally recalled by Lest for this particular assault. It seemed the young king wanted every progenitor in the vicinity present; once the bomb went off and the city collapsed into a massive sinkhole, he intended to send his armies in to clean up the rest.

"Let's just get out of here," he said, turning away from the cave and stalking out of it, robes fluttering behind him.

* * *

"Wait," Krul said abruptly, holding her hand up.

Kimizuki came to a stop behind her, confused at the reason. They were standing at the base of the Stone Tree, wrapped within the massive shadow of another nearby pillar. Now that he was standing directly next to it, he was forced to acknowledge just how stupidly huge these pillars were; they might have passed as skyscrapers on the surface world. He felt ridiculously small next to them.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

Krul didn't answer him, instead kneeling down and putting her ear to the ground. Kimizuki looked around nervously, painfully reminded of the fact that they were completely in the open. Only the shadow of the pillar kept them concealed. He could even see a small knot of soldiers standing about a hundred yards away, leaning against a truck and chatting amongst themselves. Hiding in plain sight didn't feel as sly as it was made out to be.

At last Krul rose from the ground, and what she said next sent an unexplainable chill down his spine.

"I smell vampires," she murmured, as softly as she could.

Kimizuki felt his eyes narrowing. "You mean besides yourself?"

"Obviously, child. Don't be difficult. I mean that there are vampires nearby."

"Where?" the boy asked, looking around skeptically. "In the other pillars?"

Krul shook her head. "No…it's difficult for me to make this claim, but…it feels like they are directly beneath us."

" _Beneath_ us? Is that even possible? Is there another level of the city below this one?"

The vampire pondered this for a long moment. "Now that you mention it, there is a network of ancient tunnels webbing beneath the lower levels. But there is no way to access this area through those tunnels. The only thing they were used for in the past was commuting to other cities."

Kimizuki just sighed aggressively, annoyed by the vagueness of the vampire's concern. He looked behind him and saw that Yoichi and Mitsuba were starting to get skittish too; he had them on watch while Krul did her sniffing, but they couldn't stand out here forever.

"Alright, whatever," he said, pointing towards the Stone Tree. "Doesn't matter as long as we get out of here in time. Can you get us up there?"

Krul followed the boy's finger to a small window about fifty feet above the ground, the opening carved straight out of the rock. "Yes. But I'll have to throw you."

"Whatever it takes," he said gruffly, though he wasn't particularly enthused about it.

Krul grabbed him by the collar and belt, and before he knew it he was being hurtled straight up in the air, flying towards the window so fast he thought he glasses were going to blow off.

 _Oh, shit,_ he thought, thinking Krul had misjudged the throw and that he was going to crash straight into the stone pillar. It turned out he had nothing to worry about, however, as he apexed just as he drew level with the window, and he managed to grab the edge of it without much difficulty.

He pulled himself inside as quickly as he could, knowing the next person was probably already on their way. As soon as he landed on the floor below he heard a voice in the distance, slowly growing closer. What was that?

Oh, right. The sound of Yoichi screaming.

 _Ahhhhhhhh!_ The boy's voice grew steadily stronger until he sounded like he was right by Kimizuki's ear, and he turned around to see the archer fly in straight through the window, before his waist caught on the edge and he jerked to a stop, knocking the wind right out of him.

"God damn it, keep your voice down," Kimizuki hissed, grabbing Yoichi by the front of his shirt and dragging the boy inside. The archer just groaned softly, dazed by the trauma he had just endured. Krul probably hadn't told him what she was going to do before throwing him.

 _Good thing she threw him right through the window,_ Kimizuki thought, dusting Yoichi off. _He probably would have missed the grab and fallen back down._

A moment later they were joined by Mitsuba, and then Krul leapt in after her, and everyone was inside the pillar.

"Alright. We still have a long way to go," Krul said quietly. They were in the middle of a long hallway that seemed to look all the way around the pillar. "The Seraph is likely at the top of the Tree; that's the closest it can get to city level. We'll head there."

Kimizuki nodded, and they all took off down the hall, Mitsuba dragging a listless Yoichi behind her. They found a stairwell and dove into it, closing the door behind them.

As soon as they entered the stairwell, the sound of voices echoed down from above them.

"Still, I wish I'd gotten a different post," a stranger complained. "Nobody likes being all the way down here."

Kimizuki waved frantically for everyone to hide in the shadows where the stairs bent, and they all threw themselves into the patch of darkness, praying it would be enough to conceal them.

"That is none of your concern. As long as the Seraph serves its purpose, you merely need to serve yours. It is as simply as that."

"I worry about general Kureto, though. He's always around that thing. It's almost like he's obsessed."

"Don't concern yourself with master Kureto's affairs. Everything he does is for the good of humanity, and that includes spending time around the Seraph."

"Yeah, if you say so."

The owners of the two voices finally appeared around the corner, and Mitsuba was shocked when she realized her older sister was one of them, the taller blonde walking beside another soldier none of them recognized.

 _Sis…_ she thought, clamping a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't say anything.

The two soldiers passed by Kimizuki's squad, completely missing them, then exited the stairwell.

"Mitsuba…" Yoichi murmured, putting a hand to her arm.

"Let go of me. I'm fine," she snapped, walking up the stairs without waiting for Kimizuki. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

"This is a terrible plan," Yuu muttered under his breath.

"I agree with your wholeheartedly," Shinoa muttered back.

"Be quiet," Yukimi hissed at them, adding a glare for emphasis. "Don't attract attention."

Yuu and Shinoa just rolled their eyes, pulling their hoods further over their heads.

The three of them were both dressed in common vampire robes, which Yukimi had just happened to have in her keeping. The plain, gray colored robes would easily identify them as prisoners of war, or at least that was the idea. That way they could walk around the city in plain sight, so long as Yukimi was there to act as their presumptive captor.

"I had Mito radio ahead and say she was sending two more prisoners to the dungeons beneath the palace," Yukimi whispered back to them. "They should be expecting us."

 _Is that a good thing?_ Shinoa wondered drily.

She, Yuu, and Mika were all chained together as well, though the locks weren't actually fastened in place, so they could easily break free should the need arise. Yukimi had the other end of the chain in her hand, and though Shinoa knew it was all a ruse, that didn't make it any less humiliating.

At least the plan seemed to be working so far; they had passed dozens of soldiers and officials already, but none of them had given them a second glance. Still, Shinoa made sure to keep her head down, and to hide the distinctive color of her hair. A shame, really. She thought the architecture of Sanguinem was quite fascinating.

"We're almost there," Yukimi murmured. "Just stay calm."

Shinoa couldn't see much with the current position of her head; only the cobblestone road they were walking on, and the bottoms of buildings as they passed them, all hewn out of the same stone. It was amazing to her that the vampires had managed to hack an entire way of life out down here. Too bad she couldn't see much of it.

"Hey, Shigure," an unfamiliar male voice called out to them, and Shinoa felt her shoulders tense up. "Taking up prisoner duty?"

"Someone's got to do it," the woman replied, in the dry tone she usually had. The unidentified man just chuckled and let them pass. Shinoa let out a breath.

Some minutes later they reached a flight of steps, and Shinoa counted them as they ascended, trying to keep her heartbeat neutral.

She got up to sixty seven when they ran into what looked like a pair of doors.

"State your business." A bored sounding man clucked.

"Bringing three stragglers in for containment in the dungeons," Yukimi said, holding up the chain. "Found them hiding out in the lower levels."

"Ugh. Really? Damn things never know when to give up. All right, go on through."

"Thanks."

Yukimi gave the chain a tug, and the three of them began shuffling forward into the palace. Shinoa watched the floor change from stone to marble and thought that they might actually have a chance.

"Wait." The bored man's voice cut into her hopes and dreams. "What's this one's problem?"

She heard the sound of a hood being grabbed and pulled back, and her heart immediately started going into panic mode. She was halfway through grabbing her scythe when Yukimi's cool voice stopped her.

"He's sick. You probably shouldn't get so close to him."

"He looks like it. Jesus. All right, go on."

It occurred to her then that the guard must have grabbed Mika's hood, who just happened to be a bona fide vampire. A miracle that he hadn't been recognized, either. Shinoa let out a ragged breath as Yukimi led them into an elevator shaft at the far end of the opening lobby, closing the door behind them.

As soon as the chute began moving they all lifted their heads, groaning as they necks popped.

"Holy shit, my heart," Yuu muttered, grabbing his chest. "I thought we were dead for sure back there."

"It's a good thing he didn't recognize me," Mika said.

"I guess you aren't as memorable as you'd like to be, Mikaela," Shinoa sighed.

"Stay focused," Yukimi said sternly. "We aren't out of this yet."

A moment later the elevator came to a stop, the doors sliding open slowly. Yukimi checked both ends of the hall before motioning for them to follow her.

"Yeesh, it's hot in here," Yuu said, tugging at his collar. It was morbidly humid across the entire floor; thick bronze pipes lined the walls, and a weird orange glow seemed to hum off everything, even the air itself.

"This is the boiler room," Yukimi explained, holding out her hand. The three of them shrugged off their coats and handed them to her. "It's on the way to the dungeons, so I stopped here to give the impression I was taking you there."

 _To think this castle has actual dungeons,_ Shinoa thought, watching as Yukimi walked over to a hatch sitting by the wall. Pulling it open with a pair of tongs sitting nearby, she tossed the robes in and watched them burn.

"Now listen," the assassin said, letting the hatch fall shut. "Mito and Sayuri are busy trying to secure an escape route for you right now. They'll arrange to have a vehicle left outside the back of the building for when you leave. I'm assuming you have an escape planned?"

Shinoa nodded. "We do."

Yukimi nodded back. "As for myself, I need to head back and file the rest of that prisoner report. You three are better of just wearing your uniforms now. Walking around in vampire robes without an escort will attract even more suspicion."

The woman fell silent then, as if she wanted to say something more, but was unsure of how to word it.

"Well, this is it," she said, giving them all an appraising look. "Despite what Sayuri said, we're all proud that you've managed to make it this far. So I wish you all the best of luck. And…thank you. For giving us hope."

The assassin shook hands with all three of them, even Mikaela, then walked back to the elevator.

"Guren's office is on the fifth floor, at the far end of the west wing," she said, thumbing the button for ground level. "He should still be in there."

"Thank you, Shigure-san." Shinoa bowed in gratitude, and her friends followed suit, even as the heat of the boiler room made them sweat.

The woman simply offered them a rare smile, and then she was gone.

* * *

Kimizuki felt like his jaw was going to break off.

The four of them were crouched behind a stone column in the highest floor of the Stone Tree, peering at the far end of the chamber. There, humming silently like the wings of a placid bird, was a spherical object that filled up the entire back half of the room, constructed out of a pure chrome like metal. There was a small door set into the front, but said door was currently closed, not to mention probably locked. On top of that, there were two guards posted on either side.

Clenching his teeth even further, he looked around the room for ideas. As long as there was light in this room they were never going to get close to the chamber without being seen. Several small torches lined the walls on either side, keeping the room well lit. Those would have to go first.

Turning around, he signaled silently to Krul, motioning towards the torches. The vampire nodded in understanding.

With that settled, he turned back to the chamber. He could see light spilling out through the crack of the door. There was probably someone in there, and if a person was inside, they would have to come out eventually.

Just then a small jet of steam emerged from the door, and it began to slide open, allowing Kureto Hiiragi to step through.

Kimizuki felt his blood run cold at the sight of him, and he had to fight the urge to charge out into the open and run a sword right through the man's heart. That was not a fight he could win. He had to be patient.

They all huddled behind the shadow of the column as Kureto approached, waiting until he disappeared through the door. Soon his footsteps were but echoes, and it was then that Kimizuki signaled Krul.

The vampire raised both arms and brought them together before her, putting in as much force as she could muster.

A rush of wind burst forth from her arms, sweeping through the room and snuffing every single torch on the walls. Soon the chamber were plunged in darkness, and Kimizuki rushed forward, the rest of his squad close behind him.

Just as the guards were looking around to figure out the source of the air gust, Kimizuki grabbed one of them from behind, throwing him to the floor and bashing his head with the butt of his sword. The man was out immediately, and he smiled in satisfaction.

A moment later the second guard was dragged into the darkness by Krul, and was quickly silenced. Kimizuki never found out if she actually killed him or not. He didn't want to know.

Just as they were stepping over the bodies, the spherical chamber blew out another burst of steam, and the door began to close.

Rushing forward, Kimizuki jammed his sword between the door at the last moment, keeping it wedged open. The door spewed more steam and struggled to close itself, but Kimizuki bared his teeth and pulled harder, his muscles straining with the effort.

"Krul!" he barked.

The vampire slipped her small fingers into the crack between the door and promptly ripped the entire thing off, though she made sure to set it down gently on the floor so that it wouldn't make noise.

Kimizuki didn't have time to marvel at yet another example of Krul's strength, however. Harsh white light was flooding out from the inside of the sphere; it was so strong that it nearly blinded him, and he had to hold a hand to his face as he walked into the chamber, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

And when they did, he wanted to cry.

There, hooked up to a dozen different tubes and machines inside a transparent glass orb, was his little sister.

 _Mirai._

"Oh my god," he whispered, swords clattering to the floor as he ran across the chamber to his sister, running until he was pressed flat against the wall of glass that yet separated them.

He pressed his face against it, trying to get as close as possible, trying to affirm that yes, the girl was _real_ , it was his actual sister Mirai, and he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't fantasizing about the future. His sister was here at last, before him. The long awaited dream had come to fruition.

"Mirai," he said softly, his voice strangely hoarse. He wanted to touch her so badly, wanted to hear her voice, see those beautiful eyes of hers, even wanted to brush his fingers over the curse marks that marred her young face. But despite the weight of those desires she remained comatose, hooked up to her small army of machines, tied down by taboo.

"Kimizuki," Krul murmured, putting a hand to his shoulder. "There will be time for this later. For now, but must move quickly."

Kimizuki nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath. The vampire was right. For now he just had to get Mirai out of here.

"There's probably some sort of alarm set up on this thing," Mitsuba mused, pacing around the glass orb. "There's no way they'd let anybody just open this thing."

She was probably right. Kimizuki scanned the perimeter of the orb but discerned nothing. Was there no way to extract Mirai without hurting her? Did her life depend on these machines now?

"Regardless, time is still of the essence," Krul said. "Perhaps-"

She never got to finish her sentence, because then the world fell on its side.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Shinoa asked gently.

Yuu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then reopened them with newfound fury.

"I'm ready."

They were standing outside of the last door at the far end of the west wing, just as Yukimi had instructed. The door in front of them was labeled clearly with the name _Guren Ichinose_. This was it. This was the place. This was the moment.

The time had come.

"You know," Yuu said softly, "I feel like I've been waiting for this forever. But it's only been five months."

Shinoa smiled to herself.

"Forever comes in different forms."

Thinking that those words sounded strangely like a proverb, Yuu reached out and pushed the door open.

And there, standing behind his desk with his back facing the door, was Guren Ichinose.

"Guren…" Yuu opened his mouth to whisper, but no sound actually came out. He was at a literal loss for words. Instead he stepped slowly into the office, his footsteps steady and solid, the strides of a boy who had walked the plains of the earth for another.

He swallowed thickly, and seemed to find his voice again. "Guren."

The man behind the desk seemed to twitch at his name, and then he turned around, finally revealing his eyes to the boy he had once called his son.

And in that moment, Yuu felt his heart weep.

"Yuu…" Guren rasped, his voice ragged and broken. He was clutching at his chest, one hand shaking violently over the hilt of his sword. His eyes, his _eyes_ , were slowly being consumed by a steadily advancing sea of blood red.

"Yuu…" he croaked again, in obvious pain.

"Run."

Yuu took an instinctive step back, but it was already too late.

Guren drew his sword and leapt over his desk, charging straight towards Yuu and tackling him to the ground so quickly that none of them could react in time. One blink of an eye later Yuu was on the floor, a hand around his neck, the other holding the sword that was screaming towards his right eye-

"Guren, no!" Shinoa screamed, leaping through the air at her commander.

* * *

 _"My lord, we are ready to detonate,"_ Ferid said into his device.

"Are you clear of the blast radius?" Lest asked.

 _"Yes."_

A single fang poked through his lips.

"Do it."

Ferid gave a signal, someone somewhere pressed a button, and then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Yuu felt his body being thrown to the side as something seemed to rock the building at its very foundations, and then the room itself was tilting, rotating around some god forsaken axis, and then it was chaos, as random objects and people began flying through the air from the impact of the explosion.

But in his mind he felt none of that. He could only feel the heart rending despair of reality.

A reality where Guren was never, ever going to stand by his side again.

* * *

A/N

Okay. So this chapter is like 15,000 words long and I probably should have cut it in half but that's something a good author would do I just uploaded it all at once.

So a lot of stuff happened this chapter. Tell me what you think. Please forgive me for any bad typos, I will probably fix them at a later date, assuming I have time.

Thanks for reading!

~Banshee

* * *

Reviewer Responses

Overlord Mercury: Good point. I'll keep that in mind in the future.

SkyRage: As long as you enjoy doing it, maybe you should try it again!

Kuroe Chitsu: I'm not really pushing for anything romantic between Mika and Krul. He's about 17 and she's something like two thousand years old. But you can interpret it however you like.


	9. For My Angel

"Not all lives are worth the same.

That's just the plain reality of it. Some people are simply worth more than others. Some people just _matter_ more. You could have ten people in a room, but giving me five of them doesn't necessary mean I got a fair deal. I could have gotten the five better people. Or with my luck, the five worse.

There is a factor of personal bias, of course. I might value an individual less than someone else will. But my point stands; not all lives weigh equally, and when it comes time for one of us to pass through to the void, this difference becomes clear. Unfortunately, most people aren't aware of it until they are about to die, and their friends leave them to perish, or worse, betray them.

The only one who always seems to understand a person's worth is God himself. He always finds some way of making sure the tables are spread evenly at the end of the day. Most good soldiers won't die without taking a good number of vampires with them. Worthless assholes usually die in some filthy corner, all alone. Somehow that guy always manages to get a fair trade.

I've seen him fooled a couple times, though. Sometimes you can swap a less valuable life for a more precious one. Sometimes you can pull a sleight of hand and the big guy won't even notice. Maybe that's because he's supposed to love us all equally, or whatever. I guess that's where the personal bias comes in.

So if it ever comes between me and my sister, I hope I'll be able to fool him too."

-Kimizuki Shiho

* * *

Chapter 9: For My Angel

It was like the earth itself was turning over.

Kimizuki felt his body lurching to the side as the entire chamber began to violently shudder, and then he was dazed as he flew clear across the room, smacking his head against the wall. He blearily saw the rest of his teammates launching through the air as well, floored by the mysterious massive impact they had just absorbed.

It was so loud. Everything was shaking so severely that the carefully drawn lines of the universe were beginning to unravel, and a deep, guttural roar was blasting upwards from the very depths of hell itself, like the devil had unleashed his most fearsome beast, ready to claim the surface world for his own.

Kimizuki clapped his hands over his ears, head splitting open from the intense noise, and tried desperately to get his bearings.

That was when he saw Mirai's glass chamber cracking open clear down the middle, like a fragile eggshell.

Everything else flew out of Kimizuki's mind the moment he saw this. His natural soldier's instinct kicked in, augmented by a fiercely protective drive, and then time began to slow as his mind went into overdrive.

"Krul!" he screamed, struggling to be heard over the roar of the earth.

The vampire was standing the closest to the glass orb, as she was the only one strong enough not to be thrown across the room by the impact. She barely heard her name being called, but seemed to understand, as she leapt forward so that she was standing directly in front of Mirai, before the hairline crack in the glass.

Pulling her arm back, she punched a big hole in the spherical capsule, grabbing Mirai and pulling her to freedom.

The myriad of tubes and wires attached to the girl's skin whined in protest, but Krul simply slashed those off, sending nameless smoke spewing across the room. She clutched the small girl to her chest as she leapt over to Kimizuki, who was just managing to stumble to his feet.

"What the hell is going on!" Mitsuba yelled over the shaking, ducking her head as a thin stream of debris fell from the ceiling. "Is it an earthquake?"

"I don't know!" Kimizuki shouted back, as Mitsuba clung fearfully to the blonde, who for once said nothing in protest. "But we need to get out of here before we-"

The rest of his words were lost to the ether as a deep, rattling _boom_ emanated from somewhere near the base of the Stone Tree, and then the entire chamber was tilting vertical.

Kimizuki swore as he was launched into the air again, free falling as the entire squad spilled back against the wall, which was now quickly becoming the floor. He felt his guts seizing up from the vertigo as the entire structure lurched sideways, causing even Krul to stumble and grab onto the edge of the glass orb, the shards cutting her fingers.

Then it was like the apex of a rollercoaster, than single quiet moment at the top right before the drop, as they hung precariously at the top of the world.

And then, as was always inevitable, they began to fall.

"Oh my god!" Yoichi bellowed, his scream long and drawn out, and Kimizuki could only grit his teeth as gravity smashed down on them like a giant hammer, pasting a hand to his face so his glasses wouldn't fly off. They were plummeting down, down, like the Stone Tree had been axed by a gargantuan lumberjack, and in mere seconds they were going to be red smears on the cavern floor.

Briefly, he hoped he would be allowed to join Mirai in heaven.

The next few seconds were a wild blur to him. He only remembered seeing Krul leap down next to them, then a powerful arm looping around his midsection, and then two words screamed into his ear, like a call from above:

"Hold on!"

Thinking he might as well comply, Kimizuki did just that.

Krul took a deep breath and launched herself upwards as forcefully as she could, blasting into the air and rocketing through the open window directly above them. Suddenly the walls of the chamber were gone, and they were free falling through the air again, the wind whistling past their ears, the floor rushing up to meet them-

Krul lashed out with her one free arm, just barely sinking her claws into the stone of a passing cliffside.

Their long fall game to a sudden and painful halt, and Kimizuki had his eyes screwed shut so he couldn't see, but he felt his shoulders wail in protest as they were nearly wrenched out of their sockets, as he clung for dear life to the end of the vampire's leg. Even when they had stopped falling he did not dare open his eyes, instead digging his fingers into Krul's shoe as deep as they would go, praying to the lord his shoulders wouldn't give out.

Then a horrible rending sound rose up from behind him, and he had to look.

There, just a hundred yards behind them, the Stone Tree was collapsing.

It was like watching a great giant fall to his knees. The massive stone structure had lost its base entirely, huge shards of rubble blowing outwards in a big ring of smoke far below, swallowing up soldiers who were desperately trying to run away from the chaos. Slabs of rock larger than ordinary buildings were dislocating from the pillar and falling to the earth like genuine meteors, raining death from above, but the horrible screams of the men being crushed at ground level were swallowed by the deafening noise of the entire cavern turning in on itself.

"Kimizuki!" the boy's eyes widened when he heard his name, and looked down to realize that Mitsuba was dangling from his ankle, and below her, Yoichi was clinging to the girl's wrist. He hadn't even noticed them holding onto them until now; the awesomeness of the destruction before him had been too mind consuming.

Above him, Krul gave a great grunt of effort, still hanging onto the cliffside from the tips of her fingers. Her other arm was wrapped around beneath Mirai's armpits, and Kimizuki was only a foot from his little sister's face, that beautiful face he had been waiting to see for god knew how long.

At last the vampire flexed her muscles and pulled herself on top of the cliff, dragging all four of the humans along with her through sheer willpower. Soon they were all collapsed on solid ground, gasping for breath, incredulous at what they had just survived.

"Mirai…" Kimizuki murmured, crawling over to where Krul had set the girl down. He dragged a knuckle across her face, ghosting them across the deep curse marks that scored through her skin. The girl's eyes were closed and she seemed unconscious, dead to the insanity taking place around her.

"Not right now," Krul said tersely, standing between them. She scooped up Mirai in her arms and took point. "I'll carry her. We need to get out of here before the entire cavern collapses."

Kimizuki made to follow the vampire, but not before stealing one last glance at the cavern.

Below them, all of the lower levels was descending into a supermassive sinkhole.

 _I wonder if Kureto managed to survive that._

* * *

Yuu was at war with himself.

As he watched Guren's sword closed in on his heart, he wondered if it was worth it to resist. Maybe if he allowed his mentor to kill him the man would come to his senses and finally find himself. It was a stupid gamble to make, obviously, but he was so emotionally wrought at the moment he hardly cared.

Then the floor itself tilted sideways, and the sword missed him by an inch, burying itself into the stone by his ear.

A moment later Shinoa appeared, crashing into Guren's side and sending him flying into the wall.

"Shinoa!" Yuu exclaimed, leaping up to catch the girl before she fell herself.

But it was too late, as another deafening _boom_ shook the entire castle, and they were all thrown to their hands and knees.

Yuu's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. He had no idea what the hell was going on. He had no idea why the world seemed to be falling apart around him, both literally and figuratively.

But it didn't matter, because Guren's sword was arcing down at his head.

He raised his own blade and parried the blow at the last moment, staggering backwards as the building continued to shudder on its very foundations. Shinoa darted in to cover for him, blocking Guren's follow up strike before leaping back to safety.

"Guren, please!" Yuu pleaded, one hand wrapped around a piece of furniture to keep his balance. The tiny record player on the desk was thrown to the floor, smashed to pieces. "Come to your senses! This isn't you!"

"Quite the contrary," Guren said, smiling darkly as he charged them a second time, his blade a deadly web of steel. "I've never felt more like myself."

Shinoa rushed forward to protect Yuu's side, but her scythe was easily batted away by Guren's sword. Before the man could strike his former pupil, however, Mika's length of steel formed a wall between them, stopping him.

"If you won't listen to us with words," the vampire snarled, "We'll have to force it into you."

Guren grinned widely as he stepped back, settling into a defensive stance.

"Come and get me, then!"

Mika and Shinoa both leapt forward to continue the fight, and Yuu joined them a moment later, tears forming in his eyes.

They traded blows for several seconds, weapons a messy blur between them, a hazy border between life and death. It was genuinely the most difficult sword fight Yuu had ever found himself in; despite it being three against one, Guren was more than easily holding his own, his blade fed by the power of the hungry demons residing within. And the castle was shaking the entire time, making their footing precarious and unreliable.

At long last Guren spun around on the spot, and Yuu spotted a tiny opening. He instinctively turned his wrist to strike the exposed spot, but hesitated at the last moment.

His teacher sensed this immediately, and made him pay for it.

Something heavy and powerful struck Yuu square in the chest, as Guren completed his spin and kicked him with as much weight as he could muster. Yuu was blasted backwards through the door of the office, his body smashing the wood to pieces before slamming against the wall of the hall outside, actually knocking him unconscious for a moment or two.

"Yuu!" Shinoa screamed, and Mika just barely managed to block a swing that would have taken the sergeant's head off, as Guren took advantage of her distraction.

Then the world wobbled again, and when Yuu groggily regained consciousness he saw the castle literally splitting in two.

It was one of the most surreal things he had ever seen. For a moment the entire planet seemed to scream, and then the castle as a whole was lifted clear off the ground, bouncing him several inches up in the air before slamming back down, and as the magnitude of the impact rippled through the structure the hallway cracked clear down the middle to his left.

The schism was wide and absolute; it seemed to happen in a terrifyingly slow fashion, but in reality it was only a few seconds, as the entire west wing of the palace dissociated itself from the rest of the building. A great chasm yawned open a mere foot to Yuu's left, a deep, wide hole that shot straight down to the first floor, far far far below.

Yuu threw himself away from the pit, a cold sweat breaking out across his brow, the sound of pulverized rock and the clashing of steel ringing in his ears. Back inside the office the eastern wall had completely peeled off, so that Mika was fighting with his back to an endless abyss.

And that was when the impossible happened.

Guren managed to get beneath the vampire's guard, and his sword bit into Mika's calf.

The blond cried out in pain and faltered only a step, but that was enough to undo everything. The demon possessed swordsman shoved Shinoa away before kicking Mika beneath the chin, sending him staggering back towards the abyss.

He teetered on the edge for a single moment, then fell.

 _No._

"MIKA!" Yuu howled, but it was too late, his brother was gone, swallowed by the huge crack that split the castle down the middle, falling between dozens of floors, falling past the belching fire of the boiler room, before disappearing into the blackness.

"No!" he tried to drag himself back into the office, but found his path blocked by Guren, and looked up to find the man smiling hysterically down at him.

"Every dream ends, Yuu," he said. "Even yours."

Yuu scrambled back and barely dodged a swing at his head, shuffling backwards with his sword in one hand, which he had miraculously managed to hold onto.

The hallway was tilting backwards; it was like a great hill was rising up before him, and Guren was walking down that hill towards him, forcing him back step by step.

Yuu blinked the tears from his eyes and attacked, his voice hoarse and laced with pain. Student and master began to spar, the dream against the nightmare, hope versus regret. He poured everything he knew into his attacks, but Guren continued to force him back, down the incline of the hallway as the two halves of the castle continued to peel away from each other, like a budding flower.

A deep rumble, and the walls shook around them again, chunks of rubble falling to the floor. Yuu saw Guren stumble and swung, but his strike lacked conviction and was blocked.

"You were a fool to come here, Yuu!" Guren bellowed, forcing his voice to be heard over the moans of the earth. "You only made it easier for me to kill you!"

"You aren't Guren!" Yuu screamed back, redoubling his efforts, parrying and counterattacking like a madman.

Guren laughed out loud, his sword moving too quickly to follow. "You're wrong, Yuu! This is the purest form of Guren Ichinose! The man who gave his soul for power. His soul for his loved ones! These are the ideals you so cherish! I am the man you call your teacher!"

With that he gripped his blade with both hands and brought it down on Yuu's head. The younger swordsman blocked it, but the force of the blow sending him reeling back. The extreme angle of the floor caused him to lose his balance and he fell, skidding back several yards.

The moment Yuu managed to dig his fingers into the carpet and stop himself, his master was upon him.

"You're weak!" Guren snarled, grabbing Yuu by the hair and lifting him in the air. "A man with your dreams needs power! Power like mine. The power to protect everyone. Do you not see, Yuu? Do you not see the glory of the answer your master has discovered?"

"The real Guren…would never…" Yuu croaked, his scalp searing with pain. The rumbling of the castle was so dense his words were lost.

Guren raised an eyebrow, hefting his sword and poising it over his student's heart.

"You still don't understand, Yuu," he said softly. "There's only one Guren Ichinose. And that's me."

Yuu's vision was going black. Through his hazy eyes he saw a painting dangling from the wall above them, hanging on by the steel of a single nail, precariously close to falling.

Showing his teeth, he drew his arm back and threw his sword at Guren's head.

It missed rather badly, as the man simply moved his face to the side and allowed the blade to sing by him.

"Really, Yuu?" Guren laughed, his grip on the boy's hair tightening. "I taught you better than-"

Yuu's sword struck the painting and knocked it off the wall, and it tumbled down the tilted hallway towards them, rotating once before smashing open on Guren's head.

He yelped in surprise, and Yuu took this chance to twist and sink his teeth into the man's wrist, forcing him to let go. The painful fingers in his hair disappeared, and then he was free, falling back down to the ground-

The western wing of the castle lost something important far below, and the entire hallway tilted to a ninety degree angle.

One moment the floor was below Yuu's feet, and the next it was gone, as the floor became the wall and the new floor was the closed window at the far end of the hall, a drop that was several yards long. He hung suspended in space for half a second before plummeting, screaming as the window rushed up to meet him, and he turned his back to it at the last moment.

His spine crashed into the window at full force, cracking the glass and knocking the wind clear out of his lungs. He knew immediately that he had hurt his back somehow; he could feel the wet press of blood as it leaked through his shirt, the glass shards cutting deep into his skin.

His sword impaled itself into the wall by his shoulder a moment later, having joined him for the drop.

Then a second heavy thump on top of him, as Guren landed with his feet on either side of Yuu's hips.

Yuu looked up at Guren, his body too beaten and broken to muster resistance. He looked into those deep red eyes and knew with a great conviction that it was not his old master that he had crossed blades with today. He still believed that the real Guren was in there somewhere, the teacher had been taught to respect, and ultimately learned to love.

But maybe, in this life, he wasn't meant to find out for sure.

Guren raised his sword, blood trickling down his face from where the painting had struck him. He was no longer smiling.

"Goodbye, Yuu," he said. "You will die well."

"But not today," Shinoa said savagely, before smashing into him from above.

Yuu's eyes widened as the sergeant absolutely bowled Guren aside, realizing that she must have jumped down the entire length of the hallway before landing feet first on top of the lieutenant general, though she chose not to use her scythe to kill him instead.

Guren crashed against the glass of the window beside Yuu, cracking it further, but quickly leapt to his feet, bringing his sword to bear.

He was just barely out of reach, but Yuu reached out weakly and grabbed the man's ankle, giving it a tug.

That was enough to make Guren stumble, giving Shinoa just enough reach to slash his right wrist open with the edge of her scythe, his bright red blood splattering across the wall.

The swordsman roared in pain and related his grip, the demon sword falling from his hand and clattering on top of Yuu, who wrapped an instinctive hand around it.

"No!" Guren snarled, leaping forward and tackling Yuu.

That was a bit too much for the window to handle, and with the added weight it simply gave in.

 _Oh._ Yuu felt his clothes begin to flap violently around his body as all three of them felt through the open window, out of the collapsed west wing and into free fall. He wrenched Guren's sword away from its owner and kicked him away, using the momentum to face his body towards the ground, which turned out to be a bad idea because it was coming a _lot_ faster than he had anticipated.

"Shi-chan!" Shinoa commanded, holding her hand out before her.

The demon manifested itself in the air around them, enveloping all three of them in a black cloud of miasma. Yuu's vision went dark as all the light around him was blocked out, and then there was nothing, just the inside of Shikama Doji's world.

Then the black cloud dispersed, and he found himself in the middle of a wasteland.

All around them, the remains of the great Sanguinem palace lay in shambles. Mountains of rubble were stacked lie tombs all around them, and the larger pieces of stone had crushed entire buildings, spewing wreckage all across the street they were sitting on. Behind him, in the center of all the madness, only the first floor of the castle remained standing, and even then there was but a skeleton, and probably dozens of bodies crushed beneath the rubble.

It seemed that Shikama Doji had kept them covered until the palace had finished collapsing, lest they suffer the same gruesome fate. Yuu had had no concept of time while he was enveloped in the miasma; it could have been minutes, or even hours.

Something shifted on his chest, and he looked down to see Shinoa sprawled out on top of him.

"Shinoa," he whispered, shaking her. "Shinoa, are you okay?"

The sergeant just groaned something incoherent in response, then flashed him a weak thumbs up.

"My little Shi-chan is quiet reliable, don't you think?" she wheezed, coughing out a bunch of dust that was clogging her lungs. She looked up at him and flashed a winning smile, though it wasn't very convincing with all the dirt smeared across her face.

Yuu smiled and used his thumb to wipe some grime from the girl's cheek. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Not as crazy as you."

Before Yuu could reply, a small pile of rubble was kicked aside to his right, and Guren emerged from the wreckage.

The two of them quickly detached themselves and got to their feet, watching pensively as their former teacher looked forlornly at the destruction around them.

Yuu noticed that both his and Guren's swords had landed nearby. They must have been protected by Shikama as well. He ignored them though, more worried about the man he had come here to save.

Guren finished taking in the ruins of the palace, then turned to look at his pupils, confusion written across his face.

"Did I…?" he asked softly, pointing at the scene behind him.

"Well, not on your own," Yuu said, his voice still thick with emotion. He swallowed before continuing. "But you could have welcomed us better."

Guren fell to his knees on the rubble, burying his face in his hands.

"God. I am so sorry, Yuu. I can't believe it…"

Yuu began to walk towards him, but Shinoa calmly stopped him, grabbing onto the boy's sleeve.

"It could be a trap," she whispered. "Be careful."

Yuu bit his lip, hating the need for caution, but knew she was right. He walked over and picked up the two swords that had fallen nearby, inspecting them in turn.

"So, am I talking to the real Guren Ichinose now?" he asked, looking up at the man.

Guren met the boy's eyes, and lowered his head.

"More or less, yes. It's me."

It was empty in the vicinity around them; it appeared that everyone else had either fled or was dead. The only sounds were the distant noises of explosions somewhere else in the city, and the occasional shudder of the cavern walls.

"Come with us, Guren," Yuu said at last. He put the two blades together and sheathed them in his belt. "We've come all this way for you. Leave with us and we can put this war behind us."

Guren seemed to hesitate, then lowered his head again.

"I can't, Yuu. No one's truly safe until this war is over and won. Until every vampire is eradicated from Japan, I can't rest easy. I can't trust my happiness. Isn't that what you wanted too?"

"It was," Yuu murmured. "It is. But I care about protecting my family more than killing vampires. I don't believe that one has to follow the other. We can run away, Guren. We can leave all this behind. Don't you want that?"

Meanwhile, Shinoa made sure to scan the area, suspicious that they weren't alone as they seemed. Then she noticed, sitting at the far end of the street, a small motorcycle parked by a destroyed lamp post.

That must be the ride Mito had arranged for them.

"I can't just leave, Yuu," Guren said desperately, wrapping his arms around his body. "Try to understand. I have to take care of the rest of the Moon Demons, too. If I betray the JIDA and follow you I can't guarantee their safety. And Kureto could always catch up to us."

"Yes, I could," Kureto agreed, before launching a bolt of lightning at them.

Yuu saw the streak of energy lancing towards them and lunged, grabbing Guren and throwing them both to the ground. The electricity arced overhead and obliterated a rock instead, sending razor sharp shards raining down from above.

"Run!" Shinoa yelled, sprinting after the other two, who were bolting for a nearby house that hadn't been ruined by the falling rubble.

Powerful streaks of lightning sparks at her heels as she ran; one particularly close bolt blew up the street right next to her, digging up little stones that cut into her legs. But she ignored the pain and kept running.

At last Guren and Yuu both threw open the door to the house and plunged inside, and in a wild fit of inspiration, Shinoa kicked the door closed and turned to face Kureto.

The head of the Hiiragi clan stopped in his tracks, then smiled bemusedly.

* * *

"She can't buy us time forever. Not against Kureto," Yuu said urgently, grabbing Guren by the elbow. "Come with us! We have no choice but to run now."

Guren looked truly conflicted as he stood frozen inside the house. "I…I don't know…"

"Guren, please! I've come all this way for you!" Yuu said desperately, grabbing him with both hands. "We can leave this all behind. My dream is for all of us to be together!"

Yuu's master looked down at him with a sad look in his eyes.

"But what about _my_ dream?" the man whispered. "I feel like…my dream doesn't have the same people in it as yours."

* * *

Kureto raised his weapon, and a single arc of electricity jetted towards Shinoa.

The sergeant spun her scythe in a graceful circle, mentally calling on Shikama Doji. The demon manifested as a portal and swallowed the lightning, causing it to disappear.

The amused look on Kureto's face deepened. "You dare to stand before me? Either you are deluded or you care nothing for your own life…"

"Yeah, it's probably one of those," Shinoa muttered.

The Hiiragi head snorted. "You were such a disappointment, Hiiragi Shinoa. I feel disgusted to share the same family name with you. To think that you and your sister sprang from the same womb. You truly are a disgrace."

"Thanks," Shinoa said drily, settling into a defensive stance.

Kureto smiled, lowering his blade. "I am not above compassion, however. If you surrender now and rejoin the clan, I just might find it within myself to forgive you."

"You've got it all wrong, Kureto," the sergeant sighed, shaking her head. "I'm the one who should be doing the forgiving."

"That so?" Kureto asked airily, before sending three lightning bolts at her.

Shinoa whirled her scythe around her body, exerting her powers to their maximum. Three dark portals opened up and absorbed the attacks, and she winced as their power sapped the energy from her body.

Then, before she could recover, Kureto rushed forward and swung his sword.

Shinoa's eyes went wide.

Inside the house, Yuu and Guren both whirled around when Shinoa came crashing in through the front door, sliding across the floor. Yuu caught her and looked up just as Kureto walked into the house.

"Oh, there you are, Guren," he noted. "You allowed these two children to disarm you? How pathetic."

"Kureto…" Guren murmured, in a daze. "Just what is going on here?"

"If you mean the massive explosions, that would be the work of those accursed vampires," Kureto said darkly, waving at the cavern around them. "They snuck beneath the city and detonated a bomb. My men have been dispatched to retrieve the Seraph. Once we have it secured we will have to leave this city. But at least the enemy can't have it either."

With that said, he threw another lightning bolt at Yuu, who just barely managed to dodge it in time.

"Hold still, young man," Kureto growled. "Don't make this difficult."

He raised his sword to strike again, but couldn't complete it before Guren punched him in the face.

Yuu and Shinoa watched in shock as both men fell to the floor, each grappling for dominance over the other. "Run!" Guren shouted over his shoulder before taking a kick to his jaw, Kureto's sword now forgotten on the floor.

Yuu felt his chest tightening. "But-"

"Go!"

"Yuu, we have to go," Shinoa said fiercely, grabbing her friend and pulling him along behind her. Tears were stinging her own eyes, but she also understood that there was no better way out of this. She dragged Yuu out of the house, the boy stumbling along behind her, at a loss.

She led him over to the bike parked at the end of the street, pulling them both onto the worn leather seat. The key was already in the ignition; she turned it and the engine roared to life, the steady putting sound matching the movement between her legs.

Before Yuu could get any second thoughts she revved the engine, feeling it growl beneath them, and took off down the street, towards the rendezvous point they had arranged that morning.

Yuu wept quietly the whole way, clutching to the back of her shirt.

Shinoa said nothing, preferring to let him do the crying for her.

* * *

Mika was lost.

Something large and rather heavy had struck his head after Guren kicked him off the edge of the palace, and next thing he knew he was waking up inside some dark chamber, a small cave located deep underground, a level below the main city of Sanguinem.

After a few minutes of sitting around and trying to remember what day of the week it was, he reasoned that the palace must have collapsed from the tremors, and he had fallen down to the subterranean level. That was as much as he could infer, anyway; the only passageway up was blocked by a mountain of rubble.

So he had no choice but to follow the cave to see where it led, hoping he would find an exit soon.

Despite being completely alone, the walk was far from relaxing; the entire cave system would shudder violently every few minutes, and threads of dust would fall from the ceiling, almost threatening to collapse down on top of him. It was already a god damn miracle that he was still breathing, but he found himself praying quietly as he made his way through the tunnels, using his sense of awareness to guide him.

His leg was giving him hell. Since the wound had been given by a demon weapon it was not healing, and he was limping slightly with every step, a constant reminder of his earlier mistake. That was the last time Guren Ichinose would get the one up on him.

Well, assuming Mika even made it out of this place alive.

 _Kimizuki must be rubbing off on me,_ he thought, slapping himself for his negativity.

Lifting his arm, he checked his watch for the time. He had only fifteen minutes left until he was supposed to rendezvous with the others. As long as he managed to reach the surface he ought to be able to find his way to the designated location, but he wasn't so sure if the plan was still in effect or not. They hadn't exactly been anticipating a massive vampire attack on the city.

That was his guess, anyway; the entire place reeked of his kind now, so it was the logical guess. He just hoped he wouldn't run into anybody while he was down here.

Just his luck, because when he turned the next corner he bumped right into a human soldier.

 _Well, at least it isn't vampires,_ he thought.

The soldier flinched and jumped backwards, lifting the bill of his cap to get a closer look at Mika. His eyes widened when he realized who the boy was, and he turned around to scream something down the tunnel he had just come from.

Mika drew his sword and stabbed the man through the chest, killing him instantly.

It turned out to be inconsequential, however, because a moment later about thirty more men appeared around the corner, just in time to catch Mika in the middle of wrenching his sword out of their friend.

Mika took one look at them, and ran.

 _Shit,_ he thought, as thirty footsteps began thundering after him, like another tunnel quake. His leg was on fire but he kept running anyway, since there was no way he could take on thirty soldiers in the cramped space of the tunnels, and in his current condition. He was low on blood, too.

 _Just my luck._

* * *

Kimizuki was lost.

"Any idea where the hell we are?" he barked over his shoulder, even as he ran at full speed.

"Not too sure," Krul said honestly, sprinting by his side. "Many of the tunnels around here have collapsed. And I was never too familiar with this area to begin with."

"Oh, that's just swell," the boy muttered.

"Um, guys?" Yoichi yelped. He was running behind them, beside Mitsuba. "They're gaining on us."

Apparently the JIDA really liked having the Seraph around, because they currently had an entire platoon on their asses, and they had been running for the past ten minutes. Kureto had issued some sort of order to secure the Seraph, only for the army to discover their ultimate weapon was missing, and that was how they ended up in this predicament.

It didn't help that they had no idea where they were running, either. Probably in circles.

Yoichi wailed in panic as he blindly fired some arrows behind him, trying to stall the enemy. The rest of them could only continue to run.

"Through here!" Krul suddenly said, taking an abrupt left. She was still carrying Mirai in her arms, so Kimizuki had no choice but to comply, diving into the tunnels after her.

A flash of white interrupted his vision, and then Mika appeared at the far end of the tunnel, sprinting straight towards them.

"Mika!" Kimizuki exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing down here?"

The vampire said nothing, just gestured wildly with his hands, which Kimizuki did not understand at all until he saw the thirty odd men hot on the blond's heels.

"Oh, great," he complained, coming to a complete stop. Mika met up with them, and now they had two hordes of enemies coming from either side, with nowhere to run.

"You! Fire at the ceiling!" Krul ordered, kicking Yoichi in the shins. The archer fumbled with his bow before releasing an explosive arrow straight up, sending a shower of debris raining down on them. The impact exposed a hole that seemed to lead up to a higher level.

"My guess was right," Krul said, rounding relieved. She grabbed Kimizuki and tossed him up through the hole, followed by Mitsuba. Mika grabbed Yoichi and leapt up himself, leaving only Krul, who kicked a hole clean through one soldier's chest before leaping through the hole herself.

Yoichi loosed another explosive arrow, sealing the entrance behind them.

* * *

Shinoa's watch beeped while they were riding, flashing with a newly received message.

She peered at it for a brief moment, reading the words that had been sent to the device, presumably from Kimizuki's squad.

"Kimizuki says he met Mika on the way back," she called over her shoulder. The wind was whipping through her hair, as she pushed the bike as hard as it could go. "They're safe!"

"Mika's safe?" Yuu shouted back, right into her ear.

Shinoa nodded, and she felt Yuu rest his forehead against her back in relief.

That feeling quickly disappeared, however, as they both remembered who they had been forced to leave behind.

Shinoa was taking the motorcycle through the winding streets of Sanguinem, between ancient looking houses made of stone and fenced by cobblestone roads. Privately, she was glad she had learned to ride a motor bike when she was younger; it was just a stupid hobby that Guren had indulged her in for a while, but it was paying off big time now.

She revved the engine with her wrist, eyes flicking down to check the time; ten minutes left until the scheduled rendezvous. All sorts of things had gone horribly wrong with this plan, but the plan was still the plan. She had specifically instructed everybody to stick to it unless told otherwise. They would head to the designated escape spot.

Yuu was sitting quietly in his seat behind her, arms looped firmly around Shinoa's waist. He was holding on a bit more tightly than was necessary, almost like he was hugging her, seeking comfort. Shinoa didn't say anything as they wove their way through the city, thinking that he deserved that much indulgence at the moment, even if she felt like breaking down herself. Whatever pain she might be feeling over Guren, Yuu was probably experiencing tenfold.

The sergeant grew so absorbed thinking about this that she almost didn't notice the vampire before it was too late.

It was crouching on top of a nearby building, waiting for them to come close enough so he could leap down and kill them with a single swipe. Shinoa saw him coming through the corner of her eye and swung her body hard to the side, tilting the bike and veering sharply off course.

The vampire overshot them and landed on the road instead, and only then did Shinoa noticed that there were over a dozen of them, crawling over the rooftops in pursuit, like a great infection that had risen up from the ground.

"Hold on to me!" Shinoa said sharply, before righting the bike and taking off at full speed, the engine roaring behind them. This must be the second phase of the vampire attack. First the explosions would rock the humans to their core, and then they would swarm in and finish off who was left.

The vampires behind them all screeched in unison before taking off in pursuit, leaping across the rooftops. Shinoa showed her teeth as she revved the engine again, coaxing as much as speed out of the bike as she could. The buildings swept past them in blurs, but still the vampires kept up with them, a testament to their physical prowess.

One vampire leapt down towards them, and Yuu cut him out of the air with his sword, and the enemy burst into ashes. Shinoa turned the bike and zoomed down an alternate route with less buildings, the taillight of the bike leaving a deep red streak in their wake, like blood that the vampires wanted.

"Go down that way!" Yuu shouted into her ear, before turning to slash at another vampire. "We're almost there!"

Shinoa leaned forward in her seat to reduce drag and followed Yuu's instructions, flying across a bridge so fast she thought the bike's chassis would fall apart.

Finally they crossed the bridge, and the buildings that had followed them on either side suddenly disappeared, and they were out in the open, on a long wide road that led straight into the wall of the cavern, where the pulley system that was to be their method of escape lay.

"Shinoa, over there!" Yuu said, pointing past her shoulder.

There, holed up right in the middle of the road, was Kimizuki's squad. They were sitting inside a massive crater that had been blown out of the road by an even larger piece of rubble, a huge rock that was sitting on the lip of the crater between them and the cavern wall.

And beyond them, holed up behind their own ridiculous amount of defenses, was another horde of vampires. It appeared that they had known about this unused entrance and chose to infiltrate the city through here, and were now preventing Kimizuki's squad from escaping.

The humans and vampire in question were hiding behind the giant boulder, crouching down inside the crater for extra protection. They were the literal definition of sitting ducks, sitting with their hands over their heads as the vampires bombarded the face of the boulder with explosives, and though it was holding that wouldn't last forever.

Shinoa looked past the boulder at the vampires blocking their path, then back at the dozen or so more on their tail. The odds did not look good. There were far less enemies behind them, but she wasn't about to go back the way they came. That was illogical.

Just as she was beginning to consider driving the motorcycle straight into the vampires beyond the boulder, a harsh yellow light blossomed behind her.

Dreading what had just occurred, she turned around, squinting as the light blinded her.

There, standing on top of the last of the buildings, was Hiiragi Kureto.

The air around him was fizzling with static, and blast marks riddled the rooftops around him. Shinoa saw several clouds of ash rising into the air and knew Kureto had eradicated all of them in one strike. It appeared their pursuers had been dealt with.

Before she could feel any measure of gratitude, however, the rest of Kureto's army appeared behind him.

What seemed like a hundred JIDA soldiers emerged from between the buildings beneath Kureto's feet, swarming out onto the open street, trying desperately to reach the exit at the far end. The entire city was in full evacuation mode, and past the road they saw their freedom.

Shinoa cursed as the number of human soldiers behind them continued to swell, then looked back up at the dozens of vampires dug in at the escape entrance. They were stuck between two equally unpleasant masses.

As soon as one of the humans came into the line of sight of the vampires, someone behind the defenses shouted an order, and a war machine launched an explosive at them.

It struck far behind her, but she still felt the impact of the explosion slam into them as they rode. Shinoa came to a skidding stop and the lip of the crater and leapt off the bike, the two of them tumbling down into the hole with the rest of their teammates who caught them at the bottom.

"Mika!" Yuu exclaimed, grabbing his brother and hugging him fiercely. The blond embraced him with equal vigor, though they both made sure to keep their heads down. "God, I thought you were dead!"

"So did I, honestly," Mika said, laughing a little giddily. "But a certain someone was nice enough to save me along the way."

"So I guess we're even now?" Kimizuki asked drily, earning an elbow in the side from Mika.

"Is that her?" Shinoa whispered.

All eyes turned to Mirai, whom Krul had set down on the surface of the crater, as far beneath cover as was possible. The vampire was sitting protectively over the comatose girl's body, shielding it from rubble with her arm.

"That's her," Kimizuki confirmed, his voice catching a bit. "I almost couldn't believe it when I saw her. After all this time…"

His voice trailed off, and Mika gave the boy's shoulder an assuring squeeze, which Kimizuki surprisingly didn't brush off.

Before anyone could speak up again, there was another deep explosion from behind them, as Shinoa looked to find that the vampire had launched another explosive shell at the human company.

"This isn't good," she muttered, peeking over the lip of the crater. The humans had all retreated behind the line of buildings by now, where they began digging themselves in, much like the vampires had. "Our path is blocked both ways."

As she spoke, a dozen JIDA soldiers raised a wall of second class demon bows, releasing a swarm of arrows into the air.

"Take cover!" she commanded, throwing herself beneath the lip of the crater. The rest of the squad followed suit, Kimizuki grabbing his sister and dragging her along with him, shielding her with his body.

The arrow shower descended upon the cave entrance at the far end of the street, but some stray shots found their way into the crater, the bolts impaling themselves in the dirt. One particular arrow struck the earth right between Yoichi's legs, making him go pale and tuck himself further in.

Almost immediately after the attack was finished the vampires responded with one of their own, launching two more explosive shells across the street. They landed near the edge of the buildings, and Shinoa's entire squad had to duck as the impact shook the earth itself, and a dust cloud rushed outward only to spill into the crater where they were hiding.

"Fuck! We can't just sit here like this!" Mitsuba shouted, coughing badly as the dust whirled around them like sand demons. Shinoa closed her eyes and buried her face in Yuu's shirt until the smoke passed, colliding with the boulder and dissipating.

"Well, we can't exactly run out there either," Mika said grimly, peeking around at the vampires, then ducking back again when they fire yet another shell. "We'll get blown to bits."

"We'll get blown to bits sitting here like ducks!"

"You're more than welcome to go first, then."

"Would you-"

"Stop it!" Yuu yelled, covering his and Shinoa's heads as another mortar fired off, throwing up a cloud of debris that rained down on them like pellets. "We need to focus on a way out of this!"

"If I know anything about the way Lest prepares for war, those vampires over there won't be running out of shells anytime soon," Krul said darkly.

Everyone huddled together as the humans returned another wave of arrows, this time with some bolts of magic thrown in for good measure. One of them went errant and struck the middle of the crater, sending flaming tufts of dirt flying everywhere.

Kimizuki cursed and threw his body over Mirai, gritting his teeth when the flames bit into him. Yoichi quickly stamped the flames out, but the burns were already there, not that he let it show.

"We've got to get the hell out of here," he growled, rolling onto his back and wincing when his burns smarted. "Otherwise we'll never-"

He was interrupted by the sound of the vampire's war machine launching another shell, but this time it didn't land behind them where the humans were.

Instead it crashed straight into the boulder that stood between them and the vampires.

A great gout of fire rushed out from the boulder on either side, but miraculously the massive stone did not shatter, and remained standing, smoking from the heat of the projectile that had been launched into it.

Kimizuki finally realized what was about to happen a moment later, but by then it was much too late to do anything about it.

"Oh, god," he whispered.

The war machine fired again, and this time the shell completely obliterated the boulder, and then it was chaos.

Mika and Krul both formed a ring around the rest of the squad with this bodies, trying to protect all of them at once. Mitsuba raised her axe. Shinoa stuck her scythe out through Krul's arm and summoned the power of Shikama Doji, creating the largest absorption portal she could physically muster.

Then the boulder exploded, pelting them with a literal wall of razor sharp stone, and they could only screw their eyes shut as hell collapsed upon them, flaming pieces of rock spearing down like vengeful arrows. The sound of an explosive shell detonating so close popped all of their eardrums, and for a moment all they could hear was a high pitched ringing, a sound that consumed everything, even the pain of the instant.

Then it was over, and Krul and Mika collapsed to the floor, their bodies cut and bleeding from the beating they had taken, Shinoa sweating and shaking badly from all the energy she had just expended to keep them alive. The crater was burning with several tiny fires, and the great boulder that had protected them till now was gone, destroyed by the vampire war machine.

"They must have had trouble aiming with it in the way," Yoichi whispered, his voice at an odd volume because he could no longer hear. "So they got rid of it."

Yuu raised his throbbing head to peer at the far end of the chasm.

His irises shrank.

"No."

The vampires were loading their war machine once more, and now that they could see the terrible contraption clearly it was quite easy to tell that they were aiming straight at the crater, intending to annihilate anything inside with one fell swoop.

"Oh, shit," Mika said softly. "Guys, we have to run. We have to run now."

"Run where?!" Mitsuba snapped, finally breaking from the stress of the situation. "Where the fuck are we supposed to run, Mika? That's a fucking war machine over there!"

"We can go the other way!"

"There's an entire army waiting for us, you damn fool!"

Shinoa felt her heart beginning to stop as she watched the war machine prepare to fire again, with the knowledge that there was nothing she could do to stop it. Yuu's fingers wrapped tightly around hers, and when she looked up at him, they were both wearing the same stricken expression, the kind that said it as too soon, it was too soon for them to die, they were still young, still had so much left they wanted to do, not die in a god forsaken hole in a place much too close to hell.

She looked over and Krul and saw only a grim expression on the noble's face. Such was the poise of a queen. Even in the face of death the vampire relinquished nothing.

She turned her gaze to Kimizuki, and found the boy staring blankly down at his sister.

So many thoughts were racing through his mind at the moment that he didn't know which one to choose and follow to its inevitable end. Could he use his coffin technique? No; that would only work on one person, and it would take nine seconds. They didn't have nine seconds. Some way to destroy the mortar, perhaps; the only thing that came to mind was Yoichi's arrows, but they were too weak to take down something of that size. There must be some way, some way…

Kimizuki found his mind stretching into oblivion as he continued to look down at his sister. How long he had yearned to see this beautiful face again. In a world filled with hurt and disappointment, she was the only one who had never betrayed him. She was the only one he could give his heart to without remorse. As long as he could protect Mirai, nothing else in the world really mattered.

A thin red line appeared on the girl's cheek, and then a paper thin cut was opening up in her pale skin, a single crimson teardrop falling down to her chin, like a final farewell.

Kimizuki panicked, reaching out to catch the blood drop with his finger, trying to find a way to put it back, to close the wound and sow it up so that there was no scar, no mark on the skin. But there was no way to do that. There was no real way for him to restore things to the way they had been before. The happy life he had been dreaming about all these years; a future where Mirai was healthy and content, with no weigh on her shoulders.

It occurred to him then that in all those dreams, in all those night spent thinking about such a future, he had never been present. Never once had Kimizuki dreamed of a future where he and Mirai existed together. It was only her, his sister, in all her pure and unadulterated radiance.

Not all lives were worth the same.

Maybe it was time to fool God.

Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on his sister's forehead.

Mika blinked when Kimizuki suddenly grabbed him, and said something that was lost in the rumbling of the earth.

"What?" the vampire asked, leaning in closer.

"Look after my sister," Kimizuki said softly into Mika's ear.

He let the boy go and stood up, then turned and walked to the other side of the crater.

"What the hell are you doing, Kimizuki?" Yuu shouted. "Put your head down before it gets blown off!"

"Don't tell me what to do," Kimizuki snorted, drawing both of his swords. He turned and regarded his squad mates, who stared in horror back at him, wondering what had gotten into him.

He tried to think of something to say, something that would give verbal meaning to this moment, but couldn't think of anything. That was ironic, wasn't it? He was the guy who always had some sort of witty comeback, but now, on the threshold of death, he couldn't come up with anything. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe his end was better left wordless. He wouldn't want those words to make their way to Mirai, after all.

So at last his eyes fell upon Mika, who blinked in wonder as they gazed at each other.

The bespectacled boy smiled, and said, "I'm counting on you, okay?"

Mika blinked, then rose to his own feet, saying, "Kimizuki, no-"

Kimizuki impaled himself with his own two blades.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Kiseki-O asked, turning back to look at him.

Kimizuki lifted his head and met his demon's eyes with a conviction not normally found in his race. Kiseki-O felt goosebumps rising on his skin looking into those eyes.

"I've never been sure about anything. You know that. But this is my decision."

The green haired demon blinked, then looked off in the distance.

"You know," he said, "I chose you because I thought you seemed like a level headed sort of guy. Guess I was wrong."

He was surprised to hear Kimizuki laugh at that.

"Only a crazy person would let his little sister die an early death," he said. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Kiseki-O smiled to himself. Humans were so endlessly fascinating.

"Very well, Kimizuki," he said. "I will grant your request. I wish you good fortune in the next life."

Kimizuki smiled forlornly, but his response was typical.

"No, you don't."

* * *

Back in reality, Kimizuki began to change.

Black flames sprouted all over his body, steadily growing in size and intensity. They grew until they consumed his entire body, so that he form was now entirely black and shifting, like the manifestation of a demon. The boy's form began to wave and warp in on itself, as the very fabric of reality was twisted to grant the epic request he had made of his companion.

The twin blades in his hands clattered to the floor, then faded into dust. The glasses fell from his face, the lenses cracking as they were thrown to the side, the last remaining remnant of the boy who had once been known as Kimizuki Shiho.

And at long last, the demon began to grow. It increased in size at an incredible clip, the black flames licking their way across his body as he towered above the little humans huddled together in the crater, rising to his great and proud height as a fully realized demon, the soul of the boy that had been gifted to the never-ending wrath of Kiseki-O.

Finally, deep within the heart of the black monster that now stood like a building over the crater, the last of Kimizuki's soul was consumed.

The boy was no more.

"Stars above…" Krul said in awe, tilting her head back to take in the sight of it, an actual full demon, completely manifested in the physical plane. This hadn't occurred ever since the humans learned how to bind demons with curses.

"No…no, Kimizuki, no!" Yoichi sobbed, reaching out to what had once been his friend, like he could reach into the huge black mass and pull Kimizuki out. "Don't do this!"

The manifestation of Kiseki-O threw its head back and roared, a deep, ugly sound, one that made everyone, both human and vampire, freeze in place.

Shinoa could only watch, captivated, as the demon raised its arm and smashed it into the vampire's defenses.

It was like another bomb had gone off. The entire cavern shook from the force of the blow, as every single vampire holed up in the cave was killed in an instant, destroyed by the massive demonic fist that had come to crush them. The war machine was smushed like a paper crane, the metal bending like silly putty, and suddenly the path forward was open.

Only then did Shinoa come to her senses. "Come on," she said, grabbing everyone and pushing them forward, towards the exit. "Go, go!"

The entire squad pulled themselves out of the crater and began sprinting towards the cave, passing straight beneath the manifestation of Kiseki-O. The demon turned to face the human army, apparently unconcerned with Shinoa's squad, and roared again, its voice alone causing Yuu to stumble.

Someone on the human side screamed, and they all opened fire at once.

Shinoa kept her head down as they ran, errant arrows raining down all around them. Behind her, she heard Kiseki-O bellow and rip a building to shreds.

They entered the cave, which was a small space barely large enough to fit a hundred people. There was a single car sized platform in the center of the platform, attached to a complex pulley system that was designed to carry heavy loads to the surface. In this case, the heavy load was them.

Shinoa vaulted over the railing of the platform, and was about to look for the switch when Yoichi gasped and pointed at where they had come from.

"Look."

Out in the cavern, Kiseki-O was tearing the world to pieces. The seismic waves emanating from its attacks were rocking all of Sanguinem to its roots, and the floor of the cavern was beginning to sink in on itself, swallowed by the lower levels below. Kiseki-O had already fallen halfway into the sinkhole itself, and as they watched it raised both arms and slammed the earth once more, rocking the entire cave from side to side.

"We need to leave before the entire city falls into hell," Mitsuba snapped, searching for the switch. "How the hell do you work this thing?"

There was a moment of frantic searching as everyone tried to figure the pulley system out, until Krul swore and smashed the mechanism with her fist.

That seemed to work, because the ropes began spinning rapidly, and the platform began to move.

As soon as they were clear of the ground the cavern shuddered again, and a stray arrow zoomed into the cave, nearly taking Shinoa's head off. Instead it shredded through the ribbon in her hair, and Yuu just barely caught it before it fell down to the ground.

As they ascended, Yoichi began wailing loudly, saying things that made no sense, except for Kimizuki's name, which he said over and over again. The rest of the squad drew tight expressions, all but Mika, who was stunned into silence, his tongue cut out by what Kimizuki had just done.

The pulleys were gaining traction, and soon they were flying up towards the surface. Shinoa could see a small square of light up above and hope flared in her chest. Perhaps they could make it out of this okay.

Too soon. There was a loud crash as the entire chute shook, and everyone clung to the railing of the platform as the pulleys squealed, right on the verge of breaking. Chunks of rock were breaking off the walls of the chute and falling into the platform, adding to the weight, slowing their precarious ascent, and Shinoa could only close her eyes and pray as they continued to rush towards the sky-

The heaving of the earth had altered the position of the exits to the surface world, and when the platform reached the end of the pulley system it was not at the location it was designed to stop at. Instead the platform stopped abruptly without warning, opening up through the side of a hill.

Shinoa felt herself being lifted off her feet, and then she was pinwheeling through the air, the cold surface oxygen shocking her with its harsh temperature. She flew for more than a few seconds before crashing back down onto the thick grass, somehow managing to not break anything.

Yuu, who she had been holding on to, landed somewhere nearby, impacting softly on the grass.

Her adrenaline was still pumping. She picked herself up as soon as possible and pulled Yuu to his feet, the boy stumbling somewhat on the grass. The surface air felt thin and insubstantial after spending so long underground.

"Let's find the others and get out of here," she said urgently. "Come on, before they-"

"You there!"

A single arrow buried itself in the ground between them, and then from the hilltops the entirely of the JIDA emerged, as nearly every single soldier who had managed to evacuate safety turned their eyes to the two of them. After flying through the air, Shinoa had failed to realize that they were not alone.

She jerked her head to the side and saw the rest of the squad standing a couple hundred yards away, looking around in panic for somewhere to run.

Their eyes met across the great distance, and Shinoa flashed them one of the few military signals she knew.

 _Run._

Another arrow came close to cutting across her eyes, and next thing she knew they were both running, their shoes rushing through the grass as they fled. The soldiers behind them began shouting, and the shouting never seemed to stop, but neither did they. They dove into a thicket of trees and began heading for the city, trying to put as much distance between them and the men as possible, not daring to look back, knowing that if they did they would see two hundred soldiers on their tail, pursuing them with every intent to commit murder.

They had failed to save Guren, but they had his sword. They had succeeded in saving Mirai, but Kimizuki was dead and the squad was split up. Shinoa didn't know whether she was supposed to laugh or cry.

Yuu seemed to know, though. He wept silently as they ran, his tears marking their trail of escape, a warped path of sorrow.

Above them, little specks of white began to fall from the sky.

First snow.

* * *

A/N

I don't usually deal in character deaths. In fact, I think it might be accurate to say Kimizuki is the first major character I've ever killed in my writing. I don't expect everyone to agree with this decision, but I felt it was best for the story. Please tell me your thoughts.

Things will slow down a little after this. The last two chapters have been extremely hectic, even for me. I wrote this one in a single sitting. Probably lots of typos again, but I'll try to clean them up in a day or two. Apologies to anyone who reads this before that.

Thanks for reading!

~Banshee

* * *

Reviewer Responses

Annabeth-Cyone: 'Mother I failed you' LOL I mean technically it should be father but...you do you man. Also I'm really sorry for ruining your brotp.

Littlemouse: If things go according to plan I'll finish this. Not that I'm much of a planner.


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